تأثیر تمرین هوازی تناوبی بر برخی فاکتورهای عملکردی، ابعاد کیفیت زندگی، خستگی و خواب بیماران زن مبتلا به مولتیپل اسکلروزیس

Background and Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a kind of autoimmune and chronic disease of the central nerve system. Fatigue is the most common cause of disability among those who are affected with MS. It may increase due to sleep disorder and reduce patients&rsquo; quality of life. Since exercise as an alternative treatment is thought to be effective for MS-affected people, this study aimed at investigating the effect of interval aerobic training of upper and lower body on fatigue, quality of life, sleep and function of female MS-affected patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was a semi-experimental type which was done with pre and post-tests. For this purpose, 25 female MS-affected patients EDSS&le;3 participated in the study and were divided into two groups of control (10 people) and experimental (12 people) randomly. All of the participants answered quality of life (MSQOL-54), fatigue (FSS) and quality of life questionnaires before training. Also, VO2max, maximal power of upper and lower body and their functions were measured. The experimental group had upper and lower body interval aerobic training by means of arm and leg ergometer cycle for eight weeks (three times a week). The data were analyzed with dependent and independent t-tests and variance analysis. Results: The findings of this study indicated that after eight weeks of upper and lower body interval aerobic training, fatigue decreased while quality of life, function and VO2max of the patients significantly increased (p<0.05), but there was no significant change in their quality of sleep (p>0.05). Conclusion: Interval aerobic training of upper and lower body improves quality of life, function and VO2max. Moreover, it decreases the major sufferings of MS-affected patients which is fatigue. It also increases their mental and physical functions.