Welcome to Living Well with MS, the podcast that empowers you to take control of your health and wellbeing. Today we’re thrilled to welcome Dr Robert Motl as our guest! Dr Motl is a professor of kinesiology, nutrition and rehabilitation sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He’s a top researcher in the field of exercise and physical activity for people living with MS and, in this fascinating episode, he talks to Overcoming MS facilitator Veronique Gauthier-Simmons about how much exercise is recommended for people with MS, the differences between lifestyle physical activity and structured exercise, and he explains how exercise works within the brain to slow MS progression. We learnt so much from Dr Motl, and hope it helps you kick start a new phase in your relationship with physical activity. Let us know what you think!

Watch this episode on YouTube here. Keep reading for the key episode takeaways.

02:09 Overview of Dr Motl’s research lab and team

03:21 Dr Motl’s interest in multiple sclerosis

05:57 Key findings over the years of the benefits of exercise for people with MS

09:32 Lifestyle physical activity vs. structured exercise for people with MS

15:03 How much exercise is recommended for people with MS?

17:39 Exercise as a disease modifying behavior

20:28 What part of the disease progression does exercise help?

22:12 Exercise’s effects on the brain

25:50 Who benefits the most from exercise?

28:42 Social prescribing of exercise for people with MS

31:16 Exercise’s effects on mood for people with MS

34:54 How to participate in future studies

36:16 The benefits of a holistic approach to MS management

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