Walking with a rollator and climbing on Saturdays?
It is an unusual picture - the participants of "MS on the Rocks" come to the climbing hall of the TU Munich with walking aids or in a wheelchair. On Saturdays, the program includes one and a half hours of therapeutic climbing for people with MS, parallel to the regular activities. This is also the case for Barbara Dietl-Pohr (57), who was diagnosed with MS at the age of 20 and can now only walk in everyday life with the help of a rollator. At "MS on the Rocks", she trains her mobility, endurance, strength and balance on the climbing wall with other people affected. "When I was offered therapeutic climbing, I was hesitant. How could this be possible?" she reports. "I've now been doing it for 13 years and really enjoy the exercise. My posture and balance have improved. I also have more strength in my arms, which helps me a lot in everyday life when I'm out with the walker."
Everyone benefits from sports - including people with MS
Around 2.8 million people worldwide suffer from the autoimmune disease. Every year, around 15,000 patients are diagnosed with MS. This is associated with a great deal of uncertainty, because MS is considered to be the disease of a thousand faces. This means that hardly anything can be predicted about an individual course of the disease. However, movement disorders often occur at some point, so that those affected are initially dependent on walking aids and later also on a wheelchair. Many then also find it difficult to perform fine motor activities, so that they can no longer lift a cup independently or need support when brushing their teeth. They have a limited sense of direction, find it difficult to keep their balance and fall down more quickly. As a result, affected individuals often isolate themselves socially as well. "We now know that regular exercise not only keeps healthy people fit, but that people with MS also benefit," explains Dr. Claudia Kern, a physiotherapist and sports scientist at TUM who runs the "MS on the Rocks" program. "Regular training can help stabilize the symptoms of the disease and improve movement patterns, sense of balance and sense of orientation again. Contact with other people in a sports group also promotes social exchange and contributes to a better quality of life and strengthens self-efficacy." She says it is important for people with MS to feel their own limits, that sports can be interrupted at any time, and that help is available, depending on the stage of the disease.
Climbing strengthens muscle power, self-worth and quality of life
The "MS on the Rocks" program has been offered at the Technical University of Munich since 2005, and in the meantime it has repeatedly been scientifically monitored. The data shows: Climbing has motoric, psychological and social benefits for the participants. In addition to an increase in strength, they are more active overall as a result of climbing and gain self-confidence, courage and security. At the same time, climbing training in a group with other affected persons also has a positive effect on psychosocial aspects. For example, the participants state that it is easier for them to make contact with others, that they feel more socially recognized, and that climbing has a positive effect on their mood and quality of life. "We're not being pulled up the wall, for example, but climbing independently," Barbara Dietl-Pohr tells us. "That gives me a feeling of freedom." The prerequisite for climbing is that those affected are able to get out of the wheelchair independently. Another argument in favor of climbing is that injuries are less frequent than with other common sports.
Appeal: More prescriptions for special sports programs
So far, therapeutic climbing is available at only a few locations nationwide. "We think it's a project for imitators," says Prof. Dr. Renate Oberhoffer-Fritz, head of the Chair of Preventive Pediatrics and Dean of the Department of Sport and Health Sciences. "The benefits are so clear that more people affected should profit. Where climbing is not currently available, people with MS should look for other sports opportunities tailored to them. Beyond World MS Day, our appeal to physicians is: Write referrals for appropriate sports programs. This is twice as effective as a simple recommendation to exercise and promotes adherence."
To the homepage of "MS on the Rocks"
To the homepage of the Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Contact:
Dr. Claudia Kern
Chair of Preventive Pediatrics
Connollystr. 32
80809 München
Tel.: 089 289 24692
E-Mail: claudia.kern(at)tum.de
Text: Gianna Banke
Photos: "MS on the Rocks"/privat