Researchers in Melbourne, Australia, have found that exercise can have significant benefits for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), challenging the conventional medical wisdom.

Doctors normally do not recommend that patients with MS do strenuous exercise.

A common symptom of the illness is fatigue and many experts believe that doing weights can make it worse. It is also thought that strenuous exercise can affect body temperature and that can then affect nerve conduction for people with MS, exacerbating symptoms like spasticity.

But physiotherapists at Melbourne's La Trobe University have found that putting MS patients through weight training is delivering some excellent results.

They have found that patients who do weight training not only became physically stronger but have a huge improvement in their ability to perform daily tasks.

Joy Hall, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis three years ago, is one of a handful of people who took part in the weight training trial……