Easing symptoms

In short

Much of what people with MS live with each day is symptoms: fatigue, walking difficulty, stiffness, pain, bladder problems, and changes in thinking and mood.

Treating them improves daily life now, whatever the course of the disease. Trials test medicines, rehabilitation, exercise, devices and psychological therapies.

Some treatments have clear evidence, such as fampridine for walking speed in some people and exercise for fatigue and fitness. For many symptoms the trials are small and the effects modest or uncertain.

Where we are

• By far the largest number of trials, most of them small and short, on fatigue, walking, spasticity, pain, bladder and cognition.
• Confirmed: fampridine for walking, nabiximols for spasticity where it is approved, and exercise and rehabilitation for fatigue and function.
• Most drug trials for fatigue and cognition have failed or shown small effects. The evidence is strongest for exercise and cognitive rehabilitation.
• Apps, devices and stimulation are the fastest-growing group of trials.

Written by the editors from the records below. Last reviewed 6 November 2026. Not yet reviewed by an MS specialist.

The evidence

What comes next

Further reading

References

The sources behind this area's background are listed with its Research background in MS in depth. Every trial, hypothesis, review and lab study above links to its own record.