Responsiveness and Clinically Meaningful Improvement, According to Disability Level, of Five Walking Measures After Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Long walking tests and patient-reported MSWS-12 were more appropriate than short walking tests in detecting clinically meaningful improvement after physical rehabilitation, particularly the MSWS-12 for moderate to severely disabled pwMS.

Effects of dalfampridine on multi-dimensional aspects of gait and dexterity in multiple sclerosis among timed walk responders and non-responders

“…A 2014 publication by Baert et al [30] on the topic of clinically meaningful improvement of walking measures concluded that the most appropriate gait measures for detecting minimally important changes (MIC) were MSWS-12 and longer walks (e.g., 6 MW); the SSST was not reviewed in this paper. The authors assessed each measure and identified minimally important changes from both the patients' and therapists' perspectives.…”

Psychometric Properties of a Clinical Strength Assessment Protocol in People with Multiple Sclerosis

“…3 Strength training for people with MS can improve strength and has been shown to have an effect on mobility, quality of life, and participation. 2,4,5 Although there are a variety of measures with favorable psychometric properties available to clinicians to assess changes in mobility and participation after strength training, such as the Timed 25-Foot Walk test, the 2-and 6-Minute Walk Tests, and the Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale, 6,7 it can be challenging to quantify changes in strength accurately and reliably in a clinical setting.…”

The benefits of exercise in progressive MS: some cautious optimism

“…In the arm-ergometry and bicycling groups the improvement was most pronounced, and corresponded to ~63 m and ~56 m, respectively. These average changes are well above the threshold required for a change to be regarded as clinically relevant from a patient perspective for the 6-minute walk test of 22 m. 6 Surprisingly, arm-ergometry improved walking distance, and the authors struggle to explain this improvement. However, the most likely explanations seem to be improved core stability and/ or improved arm-swinging during walking.…”