The Effect of Cognitive Exercise on Upper Extremity Functions, Balance and Cognitive Functions in Multiple Sclerosis

Cognitive rehabilitation is a set of therapeutic approaches that aim to increase functional capacity by examining the relationship between brain and behavior in many areas of cognition such as attention, memory, concentration, reasoning, problem solving, judgment, motor planning and awareness, and the first goal of treatment is to minimize the loss of acquired neuro-cognitive function. Although cognitive rehabilitation programs have been shown to significantly slow down cognitive decline in studies on MS, rehabilitation studies are still in their infancy. In addition, the content and intensity of the rehabilitation program required to provide an effective result have not been clarified. Evidence-based studies examining the effect of cognitive exercise in addition to physical exercise on motor function in MS are also very limited. There are some studies investigating cognitive rehabilitation alone or physical rehabilitation, but to our knowledge, there are no studies investigating the superiority of cognitive rehabilitation over a classical physiotherapy program consisting of core-based upper extremity exercises. Therefore, more original and new studies are needed. Our study is important in this sense. The aim of this study was to show the effect of cognitive rehabilitation on upper extremity functions, balance and cognitive functions when it is applied in addition to physical rehabilitation in order to develop coping strategies by slowing down cognitive losses in individuals with MS and to ensure regeneration if possible. With the findings obtained as a result of the study, it is aimed to increase the quality of life of MS patients by increasing and developing cognitive rehabilitation programs in MS patients.