Effectiveness of Group Versus Individual Yoga Exercises on Fatigue of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis disorders poses heavy physical and emotional effect on patients who are associated with the disease. AIM: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of individual versus group exercises on fatigue on patients with multiple sclerosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this clinical trial, 85 patients with multiple sclerosis were divided in two groups of individualized exercise and team exercise. The intervention was conducted for 6 weeks and comprised of mild stretching and basic yoga exercises twice a day. The data were collected through demographic questionnaire, standard fatigue scale and self-reported checklist. Data analysis was performed by SPSS software. RESULTS: The mean levels of fatigue perception after the intervention in group exercise was 27.9 ± 15.9 and 27.1 ± 17.2 in individual exercise. There was no significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). Statistically significant difference was observed in the mean level of perceived fatigue in triplicate measurements (P = 0.013) among patients who completed individual exercise. However, this difference was not significant in the group exercise. CONCLUSION: Performing mild stretching exercises and basic yoga are recommended as a cost-effective method which is easy to perform among patients with mild to moderate disabilities.