The Effect of Aquatic Aerobic Training on Fatigue Severity in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Document Type : Original Article

Abstract

Introduction: Multiple Sclerosis (M.S) is a chronic disease afflicting the nervous system and destroying the 
myelin sheath of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Fatigue is the most common and 
weakening symptom of M.S. The present study aims at investigating the effects of 8 weeks of aquatic aerobic 
training on fatigue severity in M.S patients.
Material and Methods: The study is quasi-experimental and the findings are of practical value. From 100 
female M.S patients, 40 participants aged between 20 to 50 years, with illness severity of 6 to 1 and mean 
illness duration of 4±1 years were selected to take part in this study. They were randomly assigned into two 
groups: a control group and an experimental group, each with 20 participants. . The training program was 
implemented on the experimental group for 8 weeks, 3 sessions per week, at the intensity of 50-60% maximum 
heart rate. Descriptive statistics, dependent and independent t tests were run to analyze the data. 
Results: The posttest mean fatigue severity in the experimental and control groups were 2.94±0.91 and 
4.22  0.96 respectively. There was no significant difference between the mean fatigue severity in the control 
and experimental groups (P=0.001). 
Discussion and Conclusion: Aquatic aerobic training may reduce fatigue severity in the M.S patients. Based 
on the present finding, the therapists may use aquatic aerobic training as a supplementary treatment beside 
medications for the M.S patients. 

Keywords

• Multiple sclerosis
• Aquatic aerobic training
• Fatigue severity

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