Strategies, Tools for Treating Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis: Anna Kratz, PhD

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

“One of the things that I think we really need to do a better job at in MS research and clinical care is providing access to high-quality multidisciplinary care in a way that's accessible. Whether that is digitally delivered interventions that can go across the country, or something else.”

Addressing and treating fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) can be challenging, as clinicians may be unsure of or unequipped with strategies to treat this “invisible” symptom, which may not be addressed like others of this variety, namely pain and depression. Anna Kratz, PhD, associate professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and a research nonclinical psychologist, University of Michigan Medicine, sat down with NeurologyLive to discuss the challenges surrounding treatment of fatigue, as well as the need for clinicians to engage with more multidisciplinary care interventions, particularly when they can be accessible remotely or via digital platforms. 

At the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), October 25-28, Kratz presented on the broader issue of fatigue in the MS field alongside colleagues Nora Fritz, PhD, PT, DPT, NCS, from Wayne State University, and Tiffany Braley, MD, MS, from the University of Michigan.

Kratz referenced a website she designed— MyMSToolKit.com—that incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy for the treatment of fatigue within a self-managed, psychology-based platform. Digital platforms such as these may help to address the “scarcity of services” within the multidisciplinary care model, and while Kratz believes more should be developed, she also mentioned the need to put digital services through the same variety of trial testing that traditional interventions undergo in order to assess their effectiveness.

For more coverage of CMSC 2021, click here.

REFERENCE

Kratz A. Combined approaches to fatigue in MS. Presented at: CMSC 2021; October 25-28, 2021; Orlando, FL. REHAB1.