Comparing Three Dual-Task Methods and the Relationship to Physical and Cognitive Impairment in People with Multiple Sclerosis and Controls

Dual-tasking (DT) is a measure to detect impairments in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). We compared three DT methods to determine whether cognitive (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA)) or physical disability (Expanded Disease Severity Scale; EDSS) was related to DT performance. We recruited MS participants with low disability (<3 EDSS, n = 13) and high disability (≥3 EDSS, n = 9) and matched controls (n = 13). Participants walked at self-selected (SS) speed on an instrumented walkway (Protokinetics, Havertown, USA), followed by DT walks in randomized order: DT ABC (reciting every second letter of the alphabet), DT 7 (serially subtracting 7's from 100), and DT 3 (counting upwards, leaving out multiples and numbers that include 3). DT 7 resulted in the most consistent changes in performance. Both MS and control groups reduced velocity and cadence and shortened step length during DT with no significant differences between groups. Control subjects widened stride width by about 1 cm while MS subjects (collapsed as one group) did not. MS subjects with higher disability significantly increased percentage time in double support during DT compared to SS (F = 12.95, p < 0.001). The change in DS was related to cognitive and not physical disability (r = 0.54, p < 0.05).