Multiple sclerosis and sports

In Europe and North-America multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common neurological disorder of young adults besides the epilepsies. The highly variable individual disease course can result in a different extent of disability. A common question of mostly young patients concerns the possibilities of sport activities. 50 far, there is no sufficient evidence for the former attitude, that sports might have a negative impact on the disease course. In contrast possible benefits of sports activity in MS have been recognized in recent years. Taking the degree of disability and some of the frequent disease symptoms into consideration, e.g. fatigue and the Uhthoff-phenomenon, sports may have a great number of positive effects for MS patients. Besides improvement of endurance, power, and coordination social integration can be promoted, especially in team sports. The physician should advise and inform the patient about possibilities and individual risks of sport activities.