Changing physical activity and sedentary behaviour in people with MS t

Other measures (1)

Background and study aims Physical activity has many benefits for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) including improvements in physical, mental and social wellbeing. Despite these benefits, the majority of people with MS don’t do very much physical activity and spend a lot of their day sitting. The aim of this project is to test how effective a new physical activity intervention is, called iStepMS, for improving fatigue in people with MS. Participants will have a range of measurements taken before the intervention, then 3 and 9 months later. After the first measurements, participants will be randomly entered into the intervention group or a usual care control group. Who can participate? We will do the study with 198 people living with MS. We will recruit participants from an MS therapy centre, a hospital and community health service. What does the study involve? The 99 participants in the control group will be asked to continue what they are doing as normal. The 99 people in the intervention group will receive the iStep-MS intervention. iStep-MS will involve four physical activity consultations over 3 months with a qualified healthcare team member at a hospital, community NHS service or charity-funded MS centre. The consultations will be in-person or online and use techniques known to support more physical activity and less sitting. Participants will receive the iStep-MS handbook that provides readings and tasks to do before the consultations and provides guidance on setting goals and planning when, where and how to do physical activity and reduce sitting. They will also be given a Smartwatch activity tracker to monitor their physical activity, set goals and receive reminders to move. To test if the programme is effective, we will see if the following measurements change: physical activity, steps, sitting time, fatigue, walking capability, pain and quality of life. We will also use focus groups to find out about the experiences of participants and staff delivering iStep-MS. What are the possible benefits and risks of participating? We cannot promise that taking part will lead to benefits, but the study will give participants an opportunity to increase their physical activity and to easily access support designed to help them gradually increase their physical activity. Participants may feel better as a result of doing more physical activity and spending less time sitting. We hope the information we get from this study will help improve the treatments for people with MS in the future. There is a small risk that people may find completing the questionnaires tiring or distressing. If this happens they can take a break and then continue if they are happy to. A very small number of people are sensitive to the adhesive tape used for the activity monitoring, which is similar to that on a sticking plaster. If this happens, we will advise participants to remove the tape and attach the monitor to the other thigh or to stop wearing it. Participation is voluntary and participants may withdraw at any point without this decision affecting their normal care. Where is the study run from? Brunel University of London (UK) When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for? August 2025 to August 2027 Who is funding the study? Multiple Sclerosis Society (UK) Who is the main contact? Dr Daniel Bailey, daniel.bailey@brunel.ac.uk