Multiple sclerosis

MS is a neurological condition of the central nervous system, which means it affects the brain and how the body functions.

Over 100,000 people in the UK have MS, and it affects three times as many women as men. Symptoms usually start in your 20s and 30s, but diagnosis can often take time as there is no single test that specialists can do to diagnose it.

We don't know the cause, and we haven't yet found a cure, but research is progressing quickly. Treatments for multiple sclerosis and specialists can help you to manage the condition and its symptoms.

Every person’s experience of MS is different, and there is no way of telling how it will affect your body and your lifestyle.

Essentially, MS causes problems within the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain and spinal cord. It affects how the body manages messages and occurs when a substance called myelin, which usually protects the body’s nerve fibres, becomes damaged.

In MS, your immune system, which usually helps fight off infections, actually starts attacking and damaging myelin, mistaking it for a foreign body. This results in scarring of the nerve fibres creating ‘lesions’ or ‘plaques’. The damage to myelin and nerve fibres causes messages from the brain to the body to become slower or to not get through at all. Damage can become worse over time.

We know what causes MS within the body but we don’t yet understand why this occurs or what triggers it. There is lots of research underway to investigate this.

This is the most common of the various types of MS, and about 85% of people with MS are diagnosed as ‘relapsing-remitting’. This means that you may go through ‘relapses’, which are phases of new or old symptoms that come on quite quickly and last for around 4-6 weeks, although this differs from person to person and could be longer. The symptoms may then subside completely, or you may be left with a few lingering symptoms to manage, caused by lasting damage to the myelin in certain areas of the body. In this stage, you are considered to be ‘remitting’ and you may be able to continue daily life relatively normally.

It can be difficult to live with MS because it is so unpredictable, and you may feel anxious about when the next relapse will occur or how it will affect you. Relapses can range from mild to serious, but mostly you should be able to manage these at home with support from GPs, MS nurses and other healthcare professionals. Some factors such as stress and infections are thought to cause relapses to occur, and research is continuing in this area.

Disease Modifying Therapies (DMT) can be used to treat this type of MS and reduce how many relapses occur. The MS Society provides a lot of information about DMT, which you can read more about here.

Most people with relapsing-remitting MS will eventually develop secondary progressive MS, but this may be as long as 15 years after the initial diagnosis, differing from person to person. It generally means that your neurologist has seen evidence of at least six months of progressive symptoms which could mean you are experiencing increased disability or a wider range of disabilities, or have not recovered fully from recent relapses. It’s hard to diagnose though, because you may still have relapse phases as well.

There are ways to treat SPMS to reduce the effect of symptoms, including the use of steroids, disease-modifying therapies and mitoxantrone, which some people find effective.

A further type of multiple sclerosis is usually diagnosed when the first or primary symptoms slowly get worse over time. People who are diagnosed later on in life, around age 40 to 50, are more likely to have PPMS, often because initial symptoms were very subtle and perhaps even misdiagnosed. PPMS symptoms gradually get worse in the long term, but there can be long periods of time when they seem to be staying level, with no noticeable changes.

Some people can experience Benign MS, which is a term used to describe Multiple Sclerosis that may cause mild symptoms but has not caused any disability after a period of 15 years or more. However, a relapse could occur because MS is still causing damage to the brain and spinal cord.

Children and teenagers can develop MS and people who have the condition often feel their symptoms may have started before they were 16 years old. For more information about how children experience MS or diagnosing a child with MS, please visit the MS Society website.

There are lots of ways to manage these symptoms so you can continue your daily life as independently as possible. Equipment called ‘daily living aids’ can help with mobility and ensure you can live independently and safely.

At Healthcare Pro, we offer a huge range of equipment that can help those who are older, or have a health condition, live more independently. Below you’ll find some of our most popular products which can help relieve some of the symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis and enable those living with the condition to do more things for themselves – whether at home or when out and about.

MS can impact daily living in a number of ways but it depends on the symptoms you have. MS can affect your mobility, making it harder for you to get around inside or outside the home. This may be caused by several factors including, for example, dizziness, loss of balance, muscle spasms, aches and pains and tremors or stiffness. Often you will be able to continue doing what you have always done, but many people find that mobility aids can help them stay independent for longer. Some of the more common mobility or ‘daily living’ aids that people use include:

If you are experiencing any difficulties with mobility or are finding your condition is affecting your independence, speak to your local social services who can arrange an assessment by an Occupational Therapist (OT). They will look at the daily activities you are having difficulties with and suggest equipment or home adaptations that will help. They will look at how you do certain activities and suggest ways you can do them differently.

If you need further advice about equipment for Multiple Sclerosis, the Disabled Living Foundation can also help.

There are a number of treatments for multiple sclerosis, including medicines, physiotherapy and complementary or alternative therapies. These can help treat symptoms and the severity of relapses, but they do not cure the condition. We have summarised some key treatments for multiple sclerosis below, but there are other options depending on the type of MS you have or the particular symptoms you’re experiencing. Talk to your GP or MS Nurse, as there are likely to be healthcare professionals who can help you.

One of the current, key treatments for multiple sclerosis is the use of disease-modifying drugs that can help slow down the damage caused by relapses and reduce the frequency of them. DMTs try to reduce the amount of damage and scarring to the myelin around your nerves. There are a number of drug treatments that may be prescribed for you, including a group called ‘beta interferon’.

For more information on the drug treatments for Multiple Sclerosis, visit the official MS Trust website

Physiotherapy can help if you have symptoms such as mobility or balance problems, fatigue, muscle spasms, muscle stiffness or bladder problems. Speak to your GP or MS Nurse if you think you would benefit from this type of multiple sclerosis treatment. For example, if you’re having difficulties with speech, a speech and language therapist can advise the best course of treatment. Find out more about what physiotherapists do.

There are a host of therapies that are not considered ‘medical’ but which some people believe help them to manage their multiple sclerosis symptoms, help them to relax or improve their sense of wellbeing, for example:

Talk to your doctor before embarking on any alternative therapies to ensure they will not interfere with any medical treatment you’re receiving, and research the provider thoroughly.

Healthy eating is important for everybody, but especially people living with long term health conditions and many people with MS claim to feel better when they eat nutritionally balanced meals.

The Swank Diet is a special MS diet that some people believe help them feel better or relapse less frequently. Similarly, the Best Bet Diet, the Paleo diet and the Overcoming MS programme are other diets for MS, but research into the effectiveness of these is inconclusive.

People often ask if there are supplements for MS. If you’re eating a healthy, varied diet, you should be getting enough vitamins in your food, but a dietitian can advise if you need any additional supplements.

Exercise can help develop strength and fitness in order to help manage weight, improve overall health, and keep the body strong and fit, which can help reduce the effects of some of the symptoms of MS.

There are no specific ‘MS exercises’ but if you need advice on what kind of exercises would benefit you, speak to a physiotherapist. There may be specific exercises that can help with the MS symptoms you are experiencing, for example, yoga can help reduce muscle stiffness.

Many people with MS continue to work after they’re diagnosed. You may need to talk to your employer about your situation and discuss any issues or symptoms that may make it more difficult for you to do your job. Fatigue, stress, travel, sitting or standing all day can all make symptoms worse. Some people with MS do change jobs or decide they are no longer able to work. Everyone is different, and you will know what is right for you. The National multiple sclerosis Society points you to self-assessment tools that may help you evaluate your situation.

MultipleSclerosis.net

MS Society Forum

This is MS forum

Brain & Spine Foundation – provides expert support to people affected by neurological problems

Disabled Living Foundation – a national charity providing impartial advice, information and training on independent living

Multiple Sclerosis Trust – a UK charity that produces MS information you can trust and supports MS specialist health professionals

MS UK – a small national charity dedicated to empowering people affected by MS

MS Society – a community of people living with MS, scientists, campaigners, volunteers and fundraisers

National MS Society – a movement focused on stopping MS in its tracks

NHS – helps to explain health conditions in more detail

Central Nervous System

– the central nervous system (CNS) is made up of the brain and spinal cord. It is responsible for controlling all the functions in the body

Myelin

– an insulating sheath around many nerve fibres, which enables messages to travel quickly between the brain and the rest of the body

Disease modifying therapies (DMTs)

– a group of treatments for people with relapsing multiple sclerosis which reduce the number and severity of relapses

Mitoxantrone

– a drug that can be used in MS as a disease-modifying drug (DMD) to reduce the number of relapses a person is experiencing