foot sensory impairment and its relationship with balance and quality of life in people with multiple sclerosis

introduction: sensory impairment is a major complication following multiple sclerosis (ms). the role of foot sensation in balance and quality of life has been previously documented in elders and people with diabetes and neurological conditions (i.e. stroke) however less attention has yet been paid to people with ms. this study was to define the prevalence of foot sensory impairments in people who had ms and to investigate its relationship with balance and quality of life (qol) outcomes. materials and methods: sixty people with multiple sclerosis (52female/8male, 36/4±8/8years old, 23/3±4/0 kg/m2) and a group of thirty healthy volunteers (25female/4male, 32/1±9/6 years old, 23/6±4/5 kg/m2) were recruited in a observational cross-sectional study. sensory assessments were included light touch test at the foot and proprioception test at the ankle and metatarsophalangial joints. the “forward reach test” (frt) and “timed up and go” (tug) tests also were used to assess their balance. at last, sf-36 questionnaire was filled up to quantify the qol. results: findining indicated that 68/3% of people with ms had degrees of light touch impairment and 63/3% of them had impairments in proprioception. significant differences have been shown between the balance and qol parameters of healthy and ms groups (p<0.01). foot sensation was directly associated with balance performance and qol scores in people with ms (p<0.01). conclusion: there was a significant difference between the balance and qol parameters of people with ms and healthy subjects (p<0.01) which was associated  with their foot sensation. this result suggests that people with sensory problems at their feet have a reduced balance and qol. more attention should be paid therefore to the sensory problems at the foot while planning a rehabilitation program for people with ms.