title: Falls and physical activity in persons with multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Objectives. To examine the association between fall history and physical activity using an objective measure of physical activity (i.e., accelerometry) in persons with multiple sclerosis. Design. A community-based sample of 75 ambulatory persons with multiple sclerosis volunteered for the investigation. Participants self-reported fall history in the last year, underwent a neurological exam to determine Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, and wore an accelerometer around the waist for 7 consecutive days to determine physical activity. Results. Overall, 37 persons (49.3% of the sample) reported falling in the last year with 28 of the 37 falling more than once. Persons who fell in the last year had a significantly lower number of steps/day than nonfallers (3510 versus 4940 steps/day; P < .05). However, when controlling for disability status there was no statistically significant difference between fallers and nonfallers (4092 versus 4373 steps/day; P > .05). Conclusions. Collectively, the findings suggest that fall history may have little impact on current physical activity levels in persons with multiple sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 301 Freer Hall, 906 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Sosnoff
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Sandroff
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Pula
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Motl