Simple advice could improve long-term health for people with MS

Common MS symptoms and how they affect the body

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. It happens when your immune system mistakenly attacks your nerves, causing inflammation that can interfere with how your body works.

Symptoms of MS can vary a lot from person to person, so your experience might be different from someone else’s.

According to the charity Overcoming MS, around 150,000 people in the UK are living with MS. With more than 7000 new diagnoses each year, the number of people affected is steadily rising, making it more important than ever to raise awareness of the condition and how to manage it.

There is currently no cure for MS. If you are diagnosed, treatment is tailored to your specific symptoms and may change over time as your condition evolves. Certain medicines can help reduce inflammation, relax muscles to ease cramps, spasms, and stiffness, and manage pain and other symptoms.

Alongside medicine, there are also supportive approaches that can help people manage MS in everyday life. These include physiotherapy, mental health support, exercises, brain training activities, and general strategies for coping with symptoms.

However, a new survey commissioned by Overcoming MS has revealed that thousands of people with MS are unaware that healthy lifestyle choices - such as a balanced diet, regular exercise, and stress management - can significantly improve their quality of life.

The survey shows that more than a quarter of people with MS aren’t aware that maintaining a healthy diet, staying physically active, quitting smoking, and managing stress can help reduce pain and fatigue - and may even slow the advancement of the disease.

For instance, studies suggest that following a healthy diet may cut the progression of disability by up to 50%, while staying active through regular exercise can help lower the chance of MS relapses for some people.

Overcoming MS notes that for other long-term conditions, such as heart disease and diabetes, more than 60% of people are aware of the benefits of adopting a healthier lifestyle to manage their condition.

This highlights a clear lack of public awareness about how lifestyle changes can have a real impact on the health of people living with MS. If other serious long-term conditions treat healthy habits as central to managing the condition and improving quality of life, then the evidence showing their benefits for MS symptoms deserves the same attention.

Alexandra Holden, Chief Executive of Overcoming MS emphasises that, with NHS resources under pressure, it’s more important than ever for people to have access to evidence-based lifestyle strategies that support their health alongside medical treatment.

“Lifestyle changes, while not a cure, can and do make a real difference to symptoms and quality of life for people living with MS,” she says. “Yet too many people don’t know this, or find information about it in a haphazard way.

“The biggest challenge right now is lack of awareness, misinformation, stopping people diagnosed with MS from accessing the full benefits of lifestyle-related support.”

Through raising awareness of the benefits of healthy behaviours on MS symptoms and disease progression, Overcoming MS hopes to empower people to take charge of their lives.

While there is no cure for MS, the charity highlights real-life stories to show how people have adopted lifestyle changes and seen tangible benefits.

Yas Neves, a coach who runs an HR consultancy in South Wales, was diagnosed with MS eight years ago.

He told Overcoming MS that after making healthier lifestyle choices, he felt far better, healthier, and more content than he ever imagined at the time of his diagnosis.

“Lifestyle changes don’t happen overnight, and it took a few years for me to really embed these positive habits and feel the benefits,” he said. “But I remember starting to feel the fatigue lift, my brain fog clear, and my balance get better. I’m certain these are down to the changes I’ve made and all these years in from my diagnosis. I know that I’ve got so much more control over my future.”