How Can I Improve My Walking With MS?

Quick answer: Walking with MS can often be supported by combining strength, balance and gait practice with pacing and management of fatigue or heat. If foot drop is present, an appropriate orthosis or functional electrical stimulation may also be considered after assessment.

For the wider recovery plan, see the multiple sclerosis physiotherapy and exercise hub.

Multiple sclerosis affects people very differently, so strength, balance, gait practice, pacing and appropriate mobility support should never be reduced to one rigid routine. The useful starting point is to match activity to your current mobility, symptoms, goals and recovery.

MS Physiotherapy eGuide

Start with the problem you are trying to solve

Exercise is most useful when it has a purpose. That might be improving leg strength, maintaining walking, reducing deconditioning, practising balance, making transfers easier, building cardiovascular fitness or simply making everyday activity feel less demanding.

MS Society guidance emphasises that exercise can be adapted across different mobility levels, including wheelchair-based, seated and standing exercise. Physiotherapy can also help with mobility, balance, posture, fatigue, pain, spasms and stiffness.

When to get individual advice

New or significantly worsening neurological symptoms, repeated falls, marked changes in walking, severe pain or uncertainty about whether exercise is appropriate should be discussed with your MS team or another suitable healthcare professional. A general guide cannot diagnose a relapse or replace individual assessment.

The complete Multiple Sclerosis Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation Guide brings the exercise levels, symptom-management information and rehabilitation ideas together in one structured resource, from very limited mobility through to gym-level exercise.

Sources and further information

For how can i improve my walking with ms, the main target is usually safer, more efficient movement rather than simply doing more repetitions. Useful areas to assess include leg strength, foot clearance, balance reactions, endurance, joint range, confidence and whether an aid is making movement safer or more economical.

The practical aim with how can i improve my walking with ms is not to chase a perfect symptom-free day. It is to make activity safer, more repeatable and more useful in real life. Progress can be measured through things such as confidence, walking or transfer ability, exercise tolerance, recovery time and how much support is needed. A written plan also makes it easier to scale activity up or down when MS symptoms fluctuate.

Prefer guided group exercise? Book the strength and balance exercise class.

If you need advice tailored to you, book a physiotherapy assessment.