The results of a recent pilot study showed backward walking training led to measurable improvements in postural stability and gait speed in a majority of those participating in the study. Researchers suggest backward walking may trigger positive physical adaptations.

A collaborative team of researchers and students from Wayne State University’s Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Institute of Gerontology conducted a study to determine if backward walking training could improve mobility, balance and brain structure, and reduce the risk of falling. Participants were involved in eight weeks of treadmill and overground backward walking therapies.

The researchers said the novel physical therapy intervention was designed to combat the progressive movement challenges linked to MS. They measured structural changes in the brain’s white matter in three brain regions – the body of the corpus callosum, the superior cerebellar peduncle, and the corticospinal tract. The results of this small trial suggest this type of therapy may promote neuroplasticity in brain areas related to balance. 

The authors indicated additional larger clinical trials are needed to confirm the benefits. Their next step is to conduct a larger trial to determine the potential effect this type of therapy may have on all MS patients.

The study was published in the Journal of Neurologic Physical Therapy.