Dr Phu Hoang

Step training for people with MS

RESEARCH STUDY

Home ❯ Clinical Trials ❯ Step training for people with MS
Exercise to improve balance, stepping and thinking speed to reduce falls in MS

What is the purpose of this study?

To investigate whether a 6-month period of training using a stepping device can improve your balance, thinking skills and reduce your risk of falling.

What does the study involve?

If you are interested in this study you will be invited to one of our study sites: NeuRA in Randwick, the MS Limited Centres in Lidcombe (NSW), Canberra, Hobart or Melbourne to undertake a falls risk assessment and step performance test. This involves measuring the strength in your legs, and ability to stand still on different surfaces and walking ability. You are free to use mobility aids that you use in daily activities.

After the assessments you will be randomly allocated to one of two groups: exercise booklet or stepping exercise.

  • If you are allocated to the exercise booklet group you, will be given a series of exercises to practice for 6 months.
  • If you are allocated to the stepping exercise group, you will be provided with the smartstep computerised step training system.
  • The smartstep training system has been designed to enable you to undertake training in your own home, by playing engaging and enjoyable computer games. The system connects to a TV or computer monitor and are played with a step mat.
    Smartstep - step mat

    Smartstep – step mat

  • These games have been designed to train important balance and cognitive functions, while also being fun. You may recognise some of the games, such as Space Invaders and Tetris.
    Smartstep - computer games

    Smartstep – computer games

  • During the 6 months of the study we ask that you try play the stepping games for 120 minutes per week. You will be able to contact us at any time throughout the study if you have any questions about the system.While participating in the study, whether you are in the normal or stepping exercise group, you can continue your routine exercises such as hydrotherapy, riding bicycle, yoga, tai chi, gym, etc. You will be asked to keep a diary of falls during the 6 months of the study and 6 months after completion of the study. Following the 6-month exercise period, you will be invited to return to the study site for follow-up assessments. These assessments are identical to the assessments that you would have completed at the beginning.

Participants can also take part in 2 optional sub-studies related to the main study with the aims to a) investigate whether exercises using a stepping training system would improve sensation in the joint and muscles and muscular performance in lower limbs of people with multiple sclerosis and b) determine the relationship between sleep disruption and its consequences on balance and fall risks in people with multiple sclerosis. The study is currently recruiting people in Metropolitan Sydney, Canberra, Hobart and Melbourne.
Who can enrol?
People who have confirmed diagnosis of MS, aged 18 years and over, living in the community. To be included in the study, MS participants need to be:
• Mobile and able to walk at least 50 meters with or without mobility aid
• Able to understand and follow instructions
• Having stable MS (with or without disease modifying drugs) with no exacerbation in the past 30 days
• And currently not involved in any falls prevention programs.
Will I be reimbursed?
Your participation in the study is totally voluntary. You will be reimbursed for expenses associated with participation in the study such as travel to the study site.
Contact Information
If you have any questions, or if you are interested in participating, please feel free to contact a member of the research team:

Chief Investigators: Professor Stephen Lord, Dr Phu Hoang, Dr Jasmine Menant, Dr Daina Sturnieks and other members of the Motor Impairment program.
UNSW HREC Approval number: 14211

Prince of Wales Hospital HREC Approval number: 14/312

See what’s going on at NeuRA

FEEL THE BUZZ IN THE AIR? US TOO.

Associate Professor Kim Delbaere on Australian Chiropractor's Association podcast

One in every 100 Australians lives with schizophrenia. No single cause of schizophrenia has been identified, and this has prevented the development of a cure. Current schizophrenia treatments are designed to suppress symptoms rather than target underlying causes of the disorder, only partially relieving these symptoms and can produce unwanted side effects. But now, in a breakthrough study from Professor […]

Gabrielle Hunter
NeuRA BLOG: Schizophrenia breakthrough: the discovery of immune cells in the brain could lead to a cure

You can help change our nations mental health outlook

Australia, the lucky country... with good employment prospects, a high standard of living, wonderful health care and beaches, bush, and landscapes the envy of the world. However Australia’s poor mental health is a national health crisis that demands our attention. We have the second highest incidence of depression in the world Nearly 3.5 million Australians suffer from a form of anxiety The leading cause of death in individuals aged 15 to 44 is suicide, with young tradesmen 70% more likely to take their own lives than males employed in other industries. We are losing too many spirited and warm people to suicide and depression, watching families torn apart by chronic anxiety and lives severely affected by conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Please support mental health research at NeuRA Will you help NeuRA invest in mental health research, with a gift today? Or perhaps you’d like to become a Discovery Partner, and give a small amount monthly? Mental health research at NeuRA is growing, and there is some exciting breakthroughs on the horizon. I invite you to give today, and become a partner in those breakthroughs. Thank you for your support.
APPEAL
First International Motor Impairment Conference 2018
Can humans live to 150?

Schizophrenia Research Breakthrough

In one of the biggest breakthroughs in schizophrenia research in recent times, Professor Cynthia Shannon Weickert’s research team have identified immune cells in greater amounts in the brains of some people with schizophrenia. The study published in the Journal of Molecular Psychiatry has the potential to transform global schizophrenia research and open new avenues for developing targeted immune cell therapies. For more information on the research breakthrough click here
PROJECT
VOLUNTEER
SUPPORT OUR RESEARCH
STUDENTS
CAREERS