Pedaling Towards Relief: FES Bikes to Manage Muscle Spasticity in Multiple Sclerosis

Between 60-84% of people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis deal with involuntary contractions of the muscles, also known as spasticity. Spasticity can be a painful condition that further inhibits mobility and independence. In recent years, there has been published clinical research that shows that FES cycling can reduce spasticity in people with MS. Read on to learn what spasticity is, how it affects those with multiple sclerosis, and how FES cycling can help. 

Spasticity and FES Cycling for Multiple Sclerosis

Spasticity and multiple sclerosis are complex conditions that affect people in several ways. In order to best understand how FES cycling can combat the symptoms of these conditions, it helps to first understand how MS can cause spasticity and affect those with the condition. 

What is Spasticity?

In a healthy nervous system, there is a balance of signals sent to muscles. These signals carry messages to contract (excitatory signals) and relax (inhibitory signals) and are constantly flowing. The balance of these signals can be impacted by neurological diseases, such as MS. Often, the signals to relax are disrupted, causing an excess of signals to contract—this is the mechanism behind spasticity. 

While spasticity does affect a large number of people with multiple sclerosis, it also can affect those with spinal cord injuries, stroke, cerebral palsy, and any other condition or injury that may disrupt the neurological signals to the muscles. Some of the symptoms of spasticity include: 

• Involuntary movements caused by muscle spasms
• Stiff, tense muscles
• Pain or discomfort
• Fatigued muscles 
• Increased muscle tone, also known as hypertonicity 
• Clonus, or several large muscle spasms in a row 
• Bone or joint deformities such as contractures (fixed joints) 

The severity of these symptoms can vary from person to person. However, these types of symptoms can make tasks like walking, transfers, and even sleeping more difficult. Finding solutions to manage spasticity is essential to improving the quality of life for people with MS. 

What Is FES Cycling?

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is the use of external electrical signals to help muscles contract in a controlled way in order to perform functional activities, such as exercise or regular daily tasks. When MS disrupts the signals from the brain to the muscles, FES can complement lost or weakened muscle control using computer-controlled electrical stimulation. 

When used to help patients exercise their lower limbs through cycling, this is known as FES cycling. There are many benefits to FES cycling, including: 

• Relaxation of muscle spasms 
• Increasing blood flow and circulation 
• Releasing endorphins from exercise 
• Preventing muscles from atrophying 
• Strengthening the muscles 
• Improved mental health from regular exercise
• Maintaining or increasing the range of motion in the legs

The MyoCycle by MYOLYN is an example of an FES cycling device. MYOLYN provides the MyoCycle to both clinics and patients at home. We believe that all the benefits of FES cycling should be accessible to everyone, and that’s precisely the goal that inspired us to build the MyoCycle. Whether you’re exercising in a clinic or at home, the MyoCycle is a great tool for those with MS. 

How FES Cycling Can Ease Spasticity

Spasticity is still not fully understood, nor is there an optimal, singular approach to managing it. However, there are a couple of theories of how FES cycling can ease the symptoms of spasticity for people with MS. 

Rewiring Neural Connections

As mentioned previously, spasticity is caused by a disruption in signals from the nervous system to the muscles. FES cycling has been shown to promote neuroanatomical plasticity—or a rewiring of the nervous system. This rewiring, or altering of the connections between the brain, nerves, and muscles, can improve the balance of signaling and, therefore, help reduce spasticity or frequency of muscle spasms.

Fatigue the Muscles

Another way FES cycling helps reduce spasticity is through fatigue. FES cycling can fatigue spastic muscles by exercising them. This natural fatigue effect that happens after exercise will essentially tire the muscles out and reduce excess excitatory signals, providing both relief to the user and the benefits of being active. This benefit can even extend for several hours after the exercise has been completed.

Real-World Improvements

Reduced spasticity increases the quality of life for people with MS in several ways. Here are a few ways we’ve seen our clients with MS benefit from FES cycling: 

• Many people with multiple sclerosis have trouble sleeping, and nighttime muscle spasms can make this worse. With reduced spasticity, our patients have seen their sleep quality improve, allowing them to get the proper rest they need. 
• Spasticity can make transfers (e.g. moving from a bed to a chair) difficult for people with MS. Spastic or tight muscles and uncontrolled spasms can make it difficult to position your legs during transfers. Reducing spasticity can prevent this and increase independence with transfers. 
• With the uncontrolled spasms and movements caused by spasticity, walking and a person’s gait can be impacted. It can even make walking dangerous by increasing the risk of falling or tripping. FES cycling may be able to improve a person’s gait and lower the risk of falling by reducing muscle spasms. 

Success Stories with MyoCycle

Ron is one of our clients with multiple sclerosis. He got the MyoCycle Home so that he could exercise in the comfort of his own home. Multiple sclerosis had caused Ron to suffer from severe muscle spasms that would wake him from his sleep throughout the night. With the ability to regularly use the MyoCycle, Ron found that he was having fewer muscle spasms, and he was able to get the best night’s sleep he had in a long time. Now, he regularly uses his MyoCycle and continues to enjoy restful sleep. He has even gotten back into activities he enjoys like ping pong. 

Find Relief from Spasticity with the MyoCycle

We know how complex an MS diagnosis can be, and dealing with spasticity can add an extra layer of complication. You may be wary of using prescription drugs to reduce spasticity and want to find an alternative approach to dealing with your symptoms without unpleasant side effects. 

That’s why we offer the MyoCycle to everyone who would benefit from it. We believe the MyoCycle is a great tool to have to combat the effects of MS and spasticity. To make it accessible, we supply resources on grants, accept insurance, and provide financing to make it affordable for you at home. If you’re ready to try the MyoCycle for yourself, contact us to see how we can help you.