Regaining function in weak arm by constraining "good" arm

A form of therapy that's shown success in rehabilitating stroke victims may also be effective in helping people with MS regain function, according to a pilot study. People who suffer from weakness/partial paralysis in one arm often transfer more of their daily living tasks to the other arm. Unfortunately, this can lead to less and less use ("learned non-use") of the affected arm even though it's not totally disabled. The aim of constraint-induced movement therapy (CI therapy) is to restrict the use of the less affected arm in clinical therapy sessions and in daily life while using the affected arm more.

This form of therapy had shown efficacy in clinical trials for other conditions but had not yet been studied in MS, so a research team decided to try it out in five people with progressive MS. These subjects were 50-60 years old and had EDSS scores of 6-7. Each underwent 30 hours of physical therapy targeted on use of the affected limb, and wore a padded mitt on the less-affected hand for 90% of waking hours on training days. Assessments taken after the training period ended and four weeks after that showed overall improvements on all clinical measures including fatigue.

The authors make the point that people with MS are often not referred for rehabilitation, perhaps because the progressive nature of the disease implies a poorer prognosis. However, this study suggests that people with MS may make good candidates for rehab after all. The other lesson for people with MS who are losing strength in a limb is not to stop using it but instead try using it more and see what happens.