MS Speaks

Mobility is a major concern for people with multiple sclerosis. It is estimated that, within 10–15 years of diagnosis, approximately 80% of people will have impaired mobility. Eventually, an estimated 25% of patients are wheelchair dependent. Mobility spans more than walking, including also standing, transferring, and moving in bed. These are important activities for maintaining independence, particularly for people who are severely physically impaired. Individuals with progressive multiple sclerosis spend much of their day sitting, often with reduced ability to change position. In response, insidious but preventable secondary complications can occur, including muscle wasting, reduced skin integrity, spasms, constipation, depression, and lowered self-esteem. These problems can compound the primary neurological disability, accelerating loss of independence, and can even be mistaken for disease progression. Furthermore, long periods of sitting time are associated with increased risks of morbidity and mortality.

[Reference notes omitted]


The quotation is from this article in The Lancet (August 2019), "Assessment of a home-based standing frame programme in people with progressive multiple sclerosis (SUMS)...":

http://bit.ly/2LPEjCm


There is a discussion of this article in another article in the same issue of The Lancet, "Restoring function in progressive multiple sclerosis."  This article includes a couple of photos of the device:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(19)30243-1/fulltext?dgcid=raven_jbs_etoc_email