Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis: 5 Healthy Lifestyle Tweaks
These little changes can make a big impact on MS disease progression.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is not a curable condition, but it’s a manageable one. With the right MS treatment and lifestyle habits, people with MS can change or slow the course of the disease, manage symptoms, treat MS relapses, improve function, and care for their emotional and mental well-being.
When you have MS, it’s important to remember that the condition is only a piece of your total health picture. If you don’t have a healthy lifestyle, you are susceptible to conditions that have nothing to do with MS—just like the general population.
So, living a healthy lifestyle not only helps manage your MS, but it’s also key for optimal overall health. Here are five important lifestyle tweaks to help you achieve both of those goals:
1. Eat nutritiously. It may not be surprising that maintaining a well-rounded diet is key for good health, but it’s still one of the most important—especially for people with MS.
While there’s no special diet for MS, eating nutritiously can give you more energy and help with bladder and bowel function. To feel your best, MS specialists recommend a low-fat, vitamin-rich, high-fiber diet, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
These dietary guidelines aren’t unique to people with MS: These are the same recommendations from the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society for the general population. The USDA's MyPlate website can help you guide you towards a healthy eating pattern.
2. Get moving. People who are inactive—whether they have MS or not—are at risk for a number of health conditions. What’s more, lack of physical exercise can also lead to muscle weakness, decreased bone density, and impaired breathing.
Regular physical activity not only helps you look and feel your best, but it also can help you manage MS symptoms. Exercise can help improve your:
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Cardiovascular fitness
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Strength
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Bladder and bowel function
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Energy
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Mental health
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And cognitive function.
What’s more, you don’t have to have a vigorous exercise regimen to reap the benefits. Yoga, tai chi, and water exercises are great for people living with MS. Even activities like household chores and gardening can benefit your health.
Depending on the type of MS you have, you may need to consult your doctor or a physical therapist to find an exercise regimen that’s safe for you.
3. Kick unhealthy habits. Smoking is unhealthy for everyone, but it’s especially impactful for people with MS. Not only can smoking increase a person’s risk of developing MS, but multiple studies show that smoking can speed up MS progression and risk of disability.
If you smoke, here are some strategies to help you quit the cigarette habit.
People living with MS should also limit alcohol intake. Alcohol affects the central nervous system and drinking too much may exacerbate MS symptoms.
4. Address sleep problems. People with MS are more prone to sleep disorders, such as insomnia and restless leg syndrome. Lack of sleep can ravage every aspect of your health, including brain function. (Seriously, here are the very real ways your body suffers when you skimp on sleep.)
If you’re having trouble sleeping on the regular, see a doc. Until then, here are 11 doctor-approved tips to help you sleep better tonight.
5. Find your zen. Experiencing stress not only impacts your emotional well-being, but it may also make MS symptoms worse. Practicing mindfulness and enjoying relaxing activities—such as yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises—can help reduce stress in your life.
Treatment for MS looks different for everyone, but prioritizing a healthy lifestyle is always a good investment.
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Patients that have ankylosing spondylitis
can still live full and vibrant lives,
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and do all the activities
that they wanna do.
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But what they should know is
that it's best if they try
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to lead the lifestyle that's
as healthy as possible.
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[MUSIC]
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An important part of modifying ankylosing
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spondylitis is to maintain
a healthy lifestyle.
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Good nutrition is important for
every healthy person, but particularly,
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in patients that have
ankylosing spondylitis.
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And one of the most important things
is not to pick up smoking, or
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if you're smoking, to quit smoking.
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Smoking can destroy the small blood
vessels that are important in
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tissue regeneration and
tissue repair in the body.
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If the disease process is already
attacking parts of the disc,
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then the body is impaired to heal
that area if they're smoking.
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It's so important for these patients
to practice excellent posture.
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As the diseases progresses,
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if it gets to the point where these joints
are fusing together and you don't want
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to be locked into a position where
the spine is crooked or the neck is bent.
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Which would make it very
difficult to stand, walk, run, and
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be a healthy individual.
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Sleep is really critical.
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It recharges the whole system,
including the mind.
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Try to sleep as flat as possible
without too many pillows.
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Don't put pillows behind the knees, don't
put too many pillows behind the head.
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Use flatter pillows; that way in those
eight to ten hours of sleep that people
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might get during the night,
they're practicing good posture as well.
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Consider starting
a physical therapy program.
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An exercise routine that's focused on
maintaining mobility of the joints and
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good core strength in the body
is also really important.
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Meet with a rheumatologist and start on
the right kinds of treatments to improve
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joint mobility and quality of life.
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But also, decrease the likelihood that it
develops into a chronic condition with
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permanent joint stiffness and fusion.
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Living Well with MS. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (Accessed on June 24, 2019 at https://www.nationalmssociety.org/Living-Well-With-MS)
Taming Stress in Multiple Sclerosis. The National Multiple Sclerosis Society. (Accessed on June 24, 2019 at https://www.nationalmssociety.org/NationalMSSociety/media/MSNationalFiles/Brochures/Brochure-Taming-Stress.pdf)