MS patients could soon be prescribed table tennis: Doctor battling his condition claims ‘ping pong clinics’ have done him ‘miracles’

It may seem like a fun game to play with your kids.

But doctors could soon prescribe table tennis as a treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS), after a series of ‘ping-pong clinics’ reported notable improvements in symptoms in their patients.

A trial to validate table tennis treatments begins this week in the US and Italy, led by Dr Antonio Barbera of the University of Colorado.

Dr. Barbera, an assistant clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology, was diagnosed with MS in 2016.

Playing ping pong has helped him regain the movement and feeling he had lost in his right leg and left arm and be able to walk again, he says.

He held regular ping-pong sessions near Denver for three years, with “great results.” Others who have attended the training report improvements in mobility, balance, flexibility and core muscle strength.

The sport forces people to coordinate different parts of their body, brain and vision and is highly aerobic.

Dr.’s Neuropong program Barbera has expanded from its first location in Fort Collins, Colorado, to several other cities across the US.

If the trials are successful, he plans to take his clinic to Italy, and eventually to Britain.

“Table tennis has worked wonders for me and for many others who took part in the sessions,” he said.

‘I believe it has the potential to revolutionize MS therapy around the world and I hope this trial will start that process by scientifically validating the benefits I and many others have seen.

‘Because ping pong is such a fast-paced game, it challenges our brains far more than any other activity. It brings together aerobic activity, balance and eye coordination – it works the core and legs and it makes people smile.

“Not only do their eyes, hands and feet have to be synchronized, but they also have to process information in less than half a second before the paddle responds to the ball.”

Dr. Barbera (pictured) has held regular ping-pong sessions near Denver for three years, with “amazing results.” Others who have attended the training report improvements in mobility, balance, flexibility and core muscle strength. If the trials are successful, Dr. Barbera plans to take his clinic to Italy and eventually to Britain

The MS Society estimates that there are more than 130,000 people in the UK with the condition, with almost 7,000 new diagnoses each year – and up to three-quarters experience problems with their arms or hands.

‘We know that exercise can help manage some MS symptoms, including fatigue and problems with balance and walking,’ says Caitlin Astbury of the MS Society, adding: ‘There is a real possibility that table tennis could help people with MS. ‘

There is no cure for the condition, but medications can help manage and relieve some symptoms. And proponents of table tennis therapy believe it can play an important role in replenishing available medications.

The 16-week trial involves 40 people with MS living in the areas around Denver and Pavia, Italy.

It will investigate how table tennis can improve participants’ motor and non-motor symptoms, including fatigue, muscle weakness, reduction in movement and decline in cognition, pain and depression.

The trial involves two two-hour table tennis sessions per week, with baseline and end-of-life assessments of quality of life and eight measures including strength, walking speed and balance.

This is believed to be the first study into the benefits of table tennis for people with MS, although there have been a handful of studies suggesting it could help people with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.

The University of Colorado is one of the sponsors of this year’s American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) conference in Denver.