Using mind-body exercise as a strategy for enhancing the health and well-being of people with multiple sclerosis

After a long period in which exercise was considered counterproductive in people with MS (PwMS), exercise emerged over the last two decades as one of the most promising non pharmacological therapies for this group of the population. Despite such a shift of paradigm regarding the status of exercise, PwMS continue to have marked low levels of health-promoting physical activity in comparison to the general population. This is due to several barriers for physical activity, including lack of information and counseling, few programs tailored to the specific symptoms (e.g., fatigue, and pain) of multiple sclerosis, the need for transportation to the exercise facilities, and negative psychological symptoms (e.g., anxiety and depression).

The current project targets these barriers, providing proper information on physical activity and exercise, adapting the exercise to the needs and characteristics of PwMS, using new technologies for delivering the exercise sessions, and by implementing an exercise program that integrates body and mind which target both physical fitness/functioning and psychological well-being/mental health.

One should highlight that the ‘Active and Mindful’ project emphasis the increased need to harness the potential of digital technologies for all. Theexercise program will be delivered online, amplifying the number of people that could be reached. Furthermore, several mind-body exercise-related resources will be available online, including health- related recommendations, a portfolio of exercises, accompanied by representative images and videos, and audio recordings for guiding some of the activities (especially for relaxation and respiration exercises). The exercise recommendations will be built upon the functional level of the participants and will be supported by will be informed by the evidence-based recommendations for PwMS.