Brief summary

Many people with MS develop ankle contractures (a stiffening of the ankle joint) that can impact on normal movement at a very early stage. There is moderate-to-high quality evidence that stretch, the first line of intervention for prevention and treatment of joint contracture in physiotherapy, does not have clinically useful immediate, short-term or long-term effects on joint range of motion. This study will investigate whether exercise that stretches the calf muscle while they contract (eccentric exercise) can be used to treat ankle contractures in people with MS. 40 people with MS who have developed ankle contractures will be randomly allocated either to receive or not receive a 12-week program of eccentric exercise of calf muscle. Ankle joint range of motion, calf muscle properties and parameters of gait and mobility will be measured before and after the 12-week period.

Participants must be able to attend training at ACU gym located in Strathfield, NSW, twice a week if allocated to intervention group and all participants must be able attend Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) in Randwick  at entry and at completion of 3 month participation.

Transport costs for travelling to and from the laboratory and to the gym (e.g. parking fees, taxi fares) will be reimbursed on provision of receipts.

Inclusion criteria

Participants must have a definite diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) confirmed by neurologists and be able to walk but have a definite clinical sign of ankle contracture.

Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria can be found on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register here.

Anticipated start date

June 2014

Recruitment contacts

Phu Hoang
Neuroscience Research Australia
Margarete Ainsworth Building
Barker Street Randwick Sydney NSW 2031
Email: p.hoang@neura.edu.au
Phone: 02 9399 1832

Further details

Full details of the trial can be found on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register.

Region

NSW

Last updated

March 2018