The North American Research Committee On Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) has collected a variety of physical activity-related data on several occasions over the past few years.
10,691 NARCOMS participants reported on their current involvement in physical activity. Over half (52%) rated their exercise participation to be rare or occasional at the most and only 26% reported exercising 3 or more times a week.
When asked about their regular exercise routine in the past 4 weeks, 41% of responders either skipped the question (< 2%) or indicated that they don’t exercise on a regular basis (40%). Among the 6,265 responders reporting a regular exercise routine, aerobic exercise (e.g., walking, swimming, etc.) was the most common (63%), followed by strength training (34%). Activities focusing on muscle tone, coordination or relaxation (e.g., pilates, yoga, and tai chi) also made the top three (32%). Other types of exercise were far less common, although even extreme sports had a following.
