Walk It Out: Acute Treadmill Walking Reduces State Anxiety and Improves Mood in People with Multiple Sclerosis Who Have Analogue Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is prevalent, yet poorly managed in multiple sclerosis(MS), and exercise training may be an effective treatment option. As an initial, foundational step in considering exercise training as a treatment, we examined the effects of an acute bout of moderate-intensity exercise on state anxiety and mood in people with MS prescreened for analogue GAD. DESIGN/METHODS:This study followed a randomized, counterbalanced crossover experimental design. We administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory state subscale (STAI-Y1) and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) before, immediately after, and 20 min after 20-minutes of moderate-intensity treadmill walking exercise and seated quiet rest in people with MS and analogue GAD. The data were analyzed using a condition-by-time analysis of variance. RESULTS:There was a large, statistically significant condition-by-time interaction on STAI-Y1 scores (F(2,34) = 5.96, p = .006, η2 = .26). STAI-Y1 scores were reduced immediately after (d = 1.00) and 20 min after the exercise condition (d = .75) with no changes after seated rest. There were similar large improvements in overall POMS scores following exercise, but not seated rest. CONCLUSIONS:We provide novel evidence for the benefits of acute moderate-intensity walking exercise on state anxiety and mood among people with MS who have analogue GAD, and this exercise stimulus might be appropriate for the management of GAD in MS.