Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34520000›Full record

ReviewNeurology and therapy2021

Systematic Review of Exercise Studies in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis: Exploring the Quality of Interventions According to the Principles of Exercise Training.

Marit L Schlagheck, Niklas Joisten, David Walzik, Florian Wolf, Sarah E Neil-Sztramko, Jens Bansi, Annette Rademacher, Philipp Zimmer

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Neurology and therapy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Marit L Schlagheck *Department of "Performance and Health (Sports Medicine)", Institute of Sport and Sport Science, Technical University Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Str. 3, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.
Niklas Joisten *Department of "Performance and Health (Sports Medicine)", Institute of Sport and Sport Science, Technical University Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Str. 3, 44227, Dortmund, Germany. niklas.joisten@tu-dortmund.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9947-8746
David WalzikDepartment of "Performance and Health (Sports Medicine)", Institute of Sport and Sport Science, Technical University Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Str. 3, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.
Florian WolfNeurological Rehabilitation Centre Godeshöhe, Bonn, Germany.
Sarah E Neil-SztramkoDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jens BansiDepartment of Neurology, Clinics of Valens, Rehabilitation Centre Valens, Valens, Switzerland.
Annette Rademacher *Department of Molecular and Cellular Sports Medicine, Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sports Medicine, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Philipp Zimmer *Department of "Performance and Health (Sports Medicine)", Institute of Sport and Sport Science, Technical University Dortmund, Otto-Hahn-Str. 3, 44227, Dortmund, Germany.
TU Dortmund University · DEGerman Sport University Cologne · DEImpact · CAValens Clinics · CH

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThe objective of this systematic review is to explore the application and reporting of (i) the principles of exercise training in exercise trials, (ii) the components of exercise prescription, and (iii) the adherence towards the prescribed programmes in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS).

methodsThe MEDLINE, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Embase electronic databases were searched from 1 January 2000 to 16 October 2020. RCTs comprising at least 3 weeks of aerobic and/or resistance exercise intervention in pwMS that reported at least one physiological outcome and were published in peer-reviewed journals were eligible for inclusion.

resultsOut of 52 RCTs included in this review, 58 intervention arms were examined. None applied more than four principles of exercise training. Specificity was addressed by 85%, progression by 33%, overload by 59%, initial values by 26%, reversibility by 0% and diminishing returns by 2% of trials. Fifty-two percent of trials reported all components of exercise prescription, and 3% of trials reported the level of adherence to the prescribed exercise.

conclusionThis systematic review reveals that exercise training principles were not respected in the majority of included RCTs. The weak quality of reported exercise interventions limits the interpretation of the studies' results and potentially leads to an underestimation of 'exercise as medicine' in pwMS. Also, the vague descriptions of exercise prescription and adherence impede the reproducibility of results. Future studies must attend to all principles of exercise training and provide transparent information on the prescribed and performed programmes to develop specific and valid exercise recommendations for pwMS. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: CRD42020162671, 28/04/2020, PROSPERO.

Indexed as

Exercise prescriptionExercise therapyMultiple sclerosisPrinciples of exercise trainingSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID34520000
PMCPMC8571450
OpenAlexW3201511800

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.