Incorporating regular exercise and movement into your routine contributes to improving both physical and mental wellbeing, including helping with flexibility and strength. This is particularly crucial for people with MS, so it is important to find exercise that works for you and that you enjoy. We would like to support you to embrace cardio and strength or resistance training with confidence at a level that is right for you.
Whether your MS symptoms affect your balance, coordination, bladder, spasticity or strength, there are adapted exercises you can try from the comfort of your own home which can help alleviate uncomfortable symptoms and keep your body healthy. In both the short term and long term, exercise can have a significantly positive impact on your MS.
The Importance Of Exercise
Overview: why is exercise important?
OMS incorporates exercise into its lifestyle program due to studies showing that exercise improves mood and general well-being in people with MS as well as fitness and function.
Considerations when exercising with MS
Exercise is a key part of the Overcoming MS program and you should pick whatever form you enjoy and works for you. It is, of course, important to consider your MS symptoms when planning and undertaking workouts of any kind.
What are my exercise options?
If you can do it without difficulty, we recommend at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise three to five days a week. However if this is too much, don’t be discouraged. There are lots of way of incorporate movement into your day.
A list of exercise tips for MS
Here are some tips to help you understand how different exercise styles help with different MS symptoms
As well as considerations you should make with regard to any MS symptoms you may be experiencing before taking part in any strenuous movement, there are helpful resources such as video walk-throughs and an exercise planning tracker. We have exercise information and accessible videos for a range of levels from easy to moderate to challenging, so that you can take part in the level that suits your own personal ability.
Looking for motivation? Read about how other people in the MS community incorporate exercise into their lives on our blog posts - for example, Claire's exercise journey, Ineke about incorporating exercise into daily life, Nicole on making exercise fun and Smita’s passion for weight-lifting. These inspiring first-hand accounts may give you the encouragement you need to implement exercise into your own daily routine and stay motivated to keep it up.
Resource links: Below, we have picked out some of the most useful pages to help you increase your exercise level. This includes frequently asked questions, guided exercise videos, a specific exercise-based podcast episode and a downloadable exercise planner to help you keep track of your exercise-based goals.
Exercise for all
Exercising with MS balance symptoms
Whether you suffer from vertigo or feel unsteady on your feet because of poor coordination and/or muscle weakness, this can have a significant impact on your day-to-day life. Although exercising can help, we tend to feel nervous or apprehensive when our balance is poor.
Exercising with progressive MS
Research indicates that exercise has a beneficial impact on cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, fatigue and general quality of life for those living with progressive MS. So it's really important to develop and maintain an exercise regime.
How exercise can help your bladder symptoms
No, exercise is not a miraculous cure for everything, and doing 10 yoga triangle poses a day will not solve all your problems. But yoga does offer useful tools to keep your pelvic floor and bladder healthy.
Stretches for spasticity
Spasticity might affect your ability to exercise but the good news is that stretching can help decrease the impact of spasticity. Understanding some basic principles will help you decide which muscles to stretch.
Strength and mobility core exercises
It makes sense to ensure that a building is set on solid foundations before adding any extensions. The same logic applies to your body. All day, our bodies are fighting gravity. Here is a list of some exercises for helping improve strength, achieve better stability and maintain mobility that you can try out in the comfort of your own home.
Exercise at home
In many countries around the world, where we can exercise is currently limited. With swimming pools, gyms and fitness classes all on pause for the time being, how can we still maintain our recommended exercise while at home? In this podcast episode we look at some tips and suggestions for how to manage this.
Chair exercises
Exercising with MS can be a challenge, and even more so if you are in a wheelchair, but it is vital for your health. If MS has limited your mobility, you can experience the numerous benefits that exercise can bring by choosing the right exercises for you. Exercise can improve your MS symptoms, relieve stress and boost your mood.
Four ways to modify any exercise
"I’m a firm believer that anyone with MS, no matter what level of mobility they possess, can exercise. What makes me so confident? I know all the different ways modifications are possible!" - Dr Gretchen Hawley
Exercise blog posts
It can often be inspiring to read how others in the community are including exercise in their day-to-day lives. Take a look through our exercise specific blog posts, it may just give you the boost you need to start including more exercise in your daily life.