Effectiveness of Nonpharmacological Treatment Methods on Multiple Sclerosis compared to Pharmacological Treatment Methods

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, progressive, debilitating autoimmune disease. It is generally diagnosed in young adults and at this time is not yet curable. Over time there have been new developments in treatment options and symptom management, but compliance and effectiveness of treatments have been barriers to managing MS. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the efficacy of nonpharmacological methods in managing MS symptoms and disease course compared with the traditional pharmacological methods. The goal is to prove that avoiding triggers of relapse and decreasing relapse frequency using nonpharmacological methods is as effective in preventing disability and maintaining quality of life as taking daily, lifelong medications. Using databases such as EBSCO, CINAHL, PubMed, Medline Plus, and Academic Search Complete a variety of studies including meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and clinical trial results were used to establish a design for best practice in treating and managing MS to provide the best quality of life for patients with multiple sclerosis. The results of this study show that nonpharmacological methods alone are not enough to slow or limit the disease progression. Pharmacological methods have proven to slow the progression of disability but using medication and nonpharmacological practices in tandem show the best outcomes in decreasing and preventing disability.