Multiple Sclerosis Physiotherapy
Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation in Tauranga, Papamoa & Mount Maunganui
Living with Multiple Sclerosis can mean that things you once took for granted don't always feel as easy as they used to.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) affects the nervous system and can cause a wide range of symptoms. These may include changes in strength, balance, walking, sensation, coordination, vision, fatigue and cognitive function. Symptoms can vary considerably between people and can change over time.
The Rehab Team provides expert neurological physiotherapy for people living with Multiple Sclerosis, with rehabilitation tailored to your symptoms, goals, abilities and stage of MS.
Neurological rehabilitation is what we do every day. Our clinicians work with people living with neurological conditions every day and understand that MS rehabilitation needs to be individualised and adapted as your symptoms and needs change.
We provide in-home Multiple Sclerosis physiotherapy throughout Tauranga, Papamoa and Mount Maunganui.
How can physiotherapy help with Multiple Sclerosis?
Physiotherapy can help you maintain and improve movement, physical capacity and independence throughout your MS journey. Your rehabilitation may include:
Walking and mobility: Improving walking efficiency, endurance, transfers and mobility around your home and community.
Balance and falls prevention: Assessing balance and developing strategies to improve stability and confidence with movement.
Strength and fitness: Individualised strengthening and aerobic exercise to support physical capacity, mobility and overall health.
Fatigue management: Helping you understand your fatigue and develop strategies around pacing, energy conservation, activity planning and exercise.
Stiffness and spasticity: Movement, positioning and exercise strategies to help manage stiffness, spasms and changes in muscle tone.
Coordination and movement control: Working on coordination, motor control and functional movement where these have been affected by MS.
Equipment and mobility strategies: Providing advice around walking aids, equipment and strategies that may help you remain safe and independent.
Exercise and Multiple Sclerosis
Current evidence supports regular physical activity and appropriately prescribed exercise for people with MS. Exercise can help improve or maintain strength, fitness, mobility, balance and quality of life, and can also be an important part of managing fatigue.
At The Rehab Team, exercise is prescribed according to your current abilities, symptoms and goals. This may include aerobic exercise, strengthening, balance work, mobility exercises or more challenging training where appropriate.
Our clinicians have completed additional MS- specific neurological training, providing additional education in MS-specific exercise and rehabilitation approaches.
Exercise does not need to look the same for everyone with MS. We help you find an approach that is realistic, safe and sustainable.
Managing fatigue and heat sensitivity
Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of MS and can have a significant impact on work, exercise and everyday activities. Rehabilitation can help you identify factors that contribute to fatigue and develop practical strategies for managing your energy.
Some people with MS also experience heat sensitivity, where symptoms temporarily worsen when body temperature increases. This can occur during exercise or in hot weather. It does not mean that exercise needs to be avoided — instead, your programme may need to include appropriate intensity, rest periods, cooling strategies and timing.
Rehabilitation throughout your MS journey
MS can change over time, and your rehabilitation needs may change with it.
Physiotherapy may be helpful following changes in function, after a relapse has settled, or simply as part of maintaining your strength, mobility and physical activity over the longer term.
For people with progressive MS, rehabilitation can remain valuable even when the goal is not to restore lost function. Maintaining your current abilities, preventing avoidable complications and helping you remain active and independent are important rehabilitation goals.
We work alongside your wider healthcare team where appropriate, including your neurologist, MS nurse, occupational therapist and other health professionals.
How The Rehab Team can help
At The Rehab Team, neurological rehabilitation is what we do every day.
Our Neurological Physiotherapists provide individualised Multiple Sclerosis rehabilitation focused on helping you move well, stay active and maintain the independence that matters to you.
We provide in-home Multiple Sclerosis physiotherapy throughout Tauranga, Papamoa and Mount Maunganui.
Contact The Rehab Team today to arrange an Multiple Sclerosis physiotherapy assessment.