Gait Impairment in Early Multiple Sclerosis

Patients with early multiple sclerosis (MS) often have normal tests of disability on clinical examination despite reporting mild gait disturbance. To identify more sensitive clinical tests for mild disability in MS, investigators studied 185 patients with MS diagnosed within the past 5 years. Median Expanded Disability Status scale (EDSS) score was 1.0 (indicating low disability), and median timed 25-foot walk (T25FW) was normal at 4.05 seconds. Of the patients, 32% reported gait disturbance.

At baseline examinations, walking on a balance board (tandem walk on a board 10 feet long and either 4.5 or 1.5 inches wide) distinguished healthy controls and MS patients with no gait difficulty from MS patients with mild or high self-reported gait dif…