Efficacy of remote exercise and physiotherapy programs on depressive symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is common and negatively affects the quality of life of patients. The studies of the effect of remote forms of treatment conclude that it is a fairly easy process to carry out and with very good results for patients. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of remote forms of exercise and physiotherapy on the depressive symptoms of people with MS. METHODS: A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, PsychInfo, SportDiscus, Web of Science and ResearchGate databases. The keywords for the search were: telerehabilitation, telecounseling, tele, telephone, physiotherapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation, therapeutic exercise, exercise, depression, depressive disorders, multiple sclerosis and MS. In addition, some inclusion and exclusion criteria were defined for the selection of the final studies, which were also evaluated with the PEDro scale for their quality. RESULTS: Among the initial 176 studies found, 6 were included in the systematic review. The development of a remote individualized exercise program based on assessment, personal goals and daily life of the patient, as well as a program based on motor imagery training, showed beneficial effects on depression in people with MS, which are considered possibly equivalent to those of in-person intervention. Μeta-analysis revealed that remote exercise and physiotherapy programs are significantly more effective than control group interventions for the management of depression in people with MS (random effects model, Hedges' g = -0.41, 95%CI = -0.74,-0.09, SE = 0.17, p = 0.01). The sub-group analysis showed that studies that had chosen not to have their control group carry out any form of intervention had more significant outcomes than the others. CONCLUSION: Through telephone communication or other electronic monitoring systems, can be achieved an effective treatment of people with depression and MS, based on exercise and physiotherapy. However, more studies are deemed necessary to find the most appropriately designed and therapeutic forms of remote intervention.

The effect of therapeutic exercise on depressive symptoms in people with multiple sclerosis - A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of depressive symptoms in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is around 25 - 50% and affects their daily life and general quality of life. Several studies investigating therapeutic exercise have shown highly beneficial effects in preventing or reducing depressive symptoms. The present systematic review was conducted to investigate randomized controlled trials on the effectiveness of therapeutic exercise programs on depressive symptoms in people with MS. METHODS: A search was performed in PubMed, Scopus, APA Psychnet and ResearchGate. The keywords used were: therapeutic exercise, physiotherapy, physiotherapy, physical therapy, rehabilitation, depression, depressive disorders and multiple sclerosis. In addition, specific inclusion and exclusion criteria were set and the study selection process was conducted by two separate reviewers. The quality of the final studies included in the systematic review was assessed using the PEDro scale. RESULTS: Out of the total of 934 studies initially identified, 9 studies were finally included. The results showed that physiotherapy interventions, through aerobic exercise, robotic-assisted gait training with or without virtual reality, aerobic exercise combined with Pilates, interval training, video-games and finally clinical Pilates, improve patients' depression and in many cases with much better results compared to classic physiotherapy type interventions. CONCLUSION: The effect of therapeutic exercise has a positive impact on the depressive symptoms of people with MS. However, future research in this field is necessary to find the most proven curative forms to reduce depressive symptoms and improve the daily life of these patients.