The effect of dual-tasking on functional mobility and manual dexterity in people with multiple sclerosis at different stages of disability
Çağrı Gülşen1
, Fatma Aydın2, Fatih Söke3, Bilge Koçer2, Elvan Özcan Gülşen4, Öznur Yilmaz5, Selim Selçuk Çomoğlu2
1Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Osmangazi University, Eskişehir, Türkiye
2Department of Neurology, University of Health Sciences, Dışkapı Yıldırım Beyazıt Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
3Gülhane Faculty of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Türkiye
4Department of Health Care Services, Yunus Emre Vocational School, Program in Geriatric Care, Anadolu University, Eskişehir, Türkiye
5Hacettepe University, Faculty of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Ankara, Türkiye
Keywords: Disability level, dual-task, functional mobility, manual dexterity, multiple sclerosis.
Abstract
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of dual-tasking on functional mobility and manual dexterity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at different stages of disability.
Patients and methods: Forty-five patients (18 males, 27 females; mean age: 39.0±10.7 years; range: 21 to 62 years) with MS, 15 in the very mild group (EDSS 0-1.5), 15 in the mild group (EDSS 2-3.5), and 15 in the moderate group (EDSS 4-6.5), were included in the cross-sectional study between July 2022 and September 2022. Fifteen healthy controls (6 males, 9 females; mean age: 38.2±13.4 years; range: 23 to 65 years) were recruited. The timed up and go (TUG) test and the nine-hole peg test (9HPT) were used to assess functional mobility and manual dexterity. The dual-task condition was carried out using the TUG test and the 9HPT as the single-task condition, combined with a serial sevens subtraction task.
Results: Dual-task scores for functional mobility and manual dexterity were significantly worse than single-task scores in all groups. The order of the magnitude of the dual-task effect (DTE) in functional mobility was as follows: healthy controls = patients with very mild MS = patients with mild MS < patients with moderate MS. In addition, the order of the magnitude of the DTE in both dominant and nondominant hand manual dexterity was as follows: healthy controls = patients with very mild MS < patients with mild MS < patients with moderate MS. The very mild group was similar to healthy controls in DTE on both functional mobility and manual dexterity.
Conclusion: The results suggest that dual-tasking has a negative effect on functional mobility and manual dexterity performance in patients with MS regardless of disability level. Also, the negative effect of dual-task begins to be evident at an earlier level of the disease in manual dexterity performance than in functional mobility performance.
Cite this article as: Gülşen Ç, Aydın F, Söke F, Koçer B, Özcan Gülşen E, Yilmaz Ö, et al. The effect of dual-tasking on functional mobility and manual dexterity in people with multiple sclerosis at different stages of disability. Turk J Neurol 2025;31(2):142-150. doi: 10.55697/tnd.2025.265.
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Conceptualization: Ç.G.; Methodology, data curation, writing-original draft, investigation: Ç.G., F.A., F.S., B.K., E.Ö.G.; Formal analysis: Ç.G., F.S., E.Ö.G.; Writing-review & editing, supervision: Ö.Y., S.S.Ç.
The authors declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/ or publication of this article.
The authors received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.