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Many people with multiple sclerosis (MS) use complementary health approaches to help reduce relapses or relieve symptoms, such as pain, muscle spasticity, fatigue, cognition and depression. Some mind and body practices, such as yoga, may help ease some symptoms of MS, but there is currently no definitive evidence to suggest that any dietary supplement is effective to reduce relapses or symptoms of MS.
The American Academy of Neurology issued evidence-based guidelines in 2014 on complementary and alternative medicine use for MS and concluded that evidence was available to develop practice recommendations for use of cannabinoids, ginkgo biloba, low-fat diet with omega-3 supplementation, magnet therapy, reflexology, and bee venom therapy. This issue of the digest provides the state of the evidence for these and other commonly used complementary health approaches for MS.
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What the Science Says:
Multiple Sclerosis and Complementary Health Approaches
Learn what current research has to say about:
 Cannabinoids
Ginkgo Biloba
Omega-3 Fatty Acid Supplementation
Vitamin D
Bee Venom
Yoga
Reflexology
Magnet Therapy
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
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Additional Resources
Clinical Practice Guidelines
Scientific Literature
For Your Patients
7 Tips: What You Should Know About Complementary Health Approaches for Multiple Sclerosis
Visit NCCIH’s website to read the full issue of this month’s Clinical Digest
Continuing Education
Need CME or CEU before the end of the year? NCCIH’s Online Continuing Education Series has free video lectures on a wide range of topics like herb-drug interactions and mind-body therapies. Health professionals can earn CME/CEU credits and a certificate of completion: nccih.nih.gov/training/CME
NCCIH Clinical Digest is a service of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), National Institutes of Health (NIH), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NCCIH Clinical Digest, a monthly e-newsletter, offers evidence-based information on complementary and integrative health, including scientific literature searches, summaries of NCCIH-funded research, fact sheets for patients, and more.
NCCIH is 1 of 27 institutes and centers at the NIH. The mission of NCCIH is to define, through rigorous scientific investigation, the usefulness and safety of complementary and alternative medicine interventions and their roles in improving health and health care. For additional information, call NCCIH’s Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCIH Web site at nccih.nih.gov.
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