‘Inspire MS’ and Integrative Medicine for Multiple Sclerosis: Megan Weigel, DNP, APRN-C, APHN-C, MSCN

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“Within the Inspire MS program, we specifically brought in expert consultants to give workshops about integrative medicine, guided journaling, nutrition with cooking demonstrations, yoga therapy and breath work, primordial meditation—we did music therapy, sound healing, art therapy, a balance clinic, [where] we played a couple of balance games, and we also actually composed a song with a famous songwriter at the very end, which was really therapeutic and tied everything together. We wanted to see the effect that that would potentially have on wellness and quality of life.”

The use of integrative medicine (IM) for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may offer unique benefits; however, associated costs and lack of insurance coverage for these types of approaches often restrict accessibility. Megan Weigel, DNP, APRN-C, APHN-C, MSCN, spoke with NeurologyLive on the “Inspire Multiple Sclerosis” program, also known as “Inspire MS,” which she developed as a 6-week workshop to introduce a variety of IM modalities to patients with MS. 

Weigel, who is the founder of First Coast Integrative Medicine in Jacksonville, presented findings from the program at the 37th Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis (ECTRIMS), noting that resultant data was surprising. Participants joined weekly sessions via Zoom, filling out the Multiple Sclerosis Self-Efficacy Scale (MSSE), the MS Wellness Questionnaire, and the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) at the start of the program, as well as at the 6-week mark. While patient evaluations were “glowing,” Weigel noted that she and colleagues found no to negative effect on both the MSSE and the MS Wellness Questionnaire, as well as positive effect based on means in only a few scales of the SF-36. 

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REFERENCE

Connelly L, Fox M, Weigel M. Evaluation of a 6-week integrative medicine series on quality of life, self-efficacy, and wellness in MS. Presented at ECTRIMS Congress 2021; October 13-15; Virtual. Presentation 044.