Have you ever felt like your brain and body aren’t quite in sync anymore? Many people with MS describe moments where their focus slips, movements feel less controlled, or thoughts feel foggy. These experiences aren’t uncommon, but the best brain exercises for MS can help.
There are ways to train your brain to think and move more efficiently, and it doesn’t require hours of mental gymnastics or exhausting workouts. When you practice the right types of brain exercises for MS, you’re helping your brain and body communicate better.
If you have goals of steadier balance, clearer thinking, or smoother movement, these brain exercises can make a big difference. Pick a few to try out for a few minutes a day this week and let me know how you feel after!
By the way, have we met? I’m Dr. Gretchen, an MS-Specialized Physical Therapist and founder of The MSing Link – a research-based online program for people with MS, podcast, and book designed to help people with MS feel stronger and move better. My goal is to share MS-specific exercises and tools that make living with MS easier and more comfortable.
Traditional exercise is typically focused on strengthening muscles. But with MS, the challenge is often not the muscles themselves—it’s the messaging system between your brain and body.
If a message doesn’t travel clearly through the nervous system, the movement won’t happen the way you want it to, even if that particular muscle is strong. That’s why brain-based exercises are so important.
They strengthen the neural pathways that send signals from your brain to your body. When those pathways slow down or get interrupted, neuroplasticity helps re-establish them through repetition and intentional practice.
So while regular exercise trains the body, brain exercises train the communication system behind the movement. When that improves, the body follows.
Neuroplasticity is your brain’s ability to adapt and create new pathways. Every time you repeat a movement or redirect a thought, your brain is either strengthening a pathway that already exists or creating a brand-new one.
That’s how someone can go from barely crossing the room one month to walking to the end of a long driveway the next. The strength doesn’t come from trying harder. It comes from the brain learning a new way to communicate with the body.
The catch? Neuroplasticity takes consistency and time. You may not notice changes right away, even if your brain is already working behind the scenes. That’s completely normal. The more consistently you practice, the more automatic those pathways become, and the more noticeable your improvements feel.
These exercises include both physical and cognitive training so you can strengthen brain-body communication and improve daily function. Try them one at a time, or rotate through a few each day. Remember: small, consistent practice goes a long way.
Here are 7 of the best brain exercises for MS:
This exercise helps retrain the pathways involved in walking, balance, and hip movement. It’s simple but requires focus and control, which is what makes it powerful for neuroplasticity. You may notice one side lifts more easily than the other, and that’s okay.
How to do it:
Standing up from a chair isn’t just a leg exercise. It requires timing, balance, weight shifting, and core engagement, which makes it a great way to strengthen multiple pathways at once. Practicing this movement can make your everyday tasks feel easier and more natural.
How to do it:
Neuroplasticity isn’t just physical. The brain also builds pathways around the thoughts you repeat most often. Redirecting negative thoughts to more productive ones is a way to train your brain just like you would a muscle, and it can make a meaningful difference in confidence and mood over time.
How to do it:
Arm swing plays a bigger role in walking than most people realize. When your arm movement becomes small or uneven, it can throw off your balance and rhythm. This exercise helps restore that natural coordination between your upper and lower body so you can walk with more ease.
How to do it:
This type of exercise improves your ability to move and think at the same time, which is something we do constantly in real life. It strengthens attention, processing speed, and coordination, which is especially helpful if you experience brain fog.
How to do it:
Cross-body movements activate both sides of the brain at once, which is super helpful for improving your balance, coordination, and core control. Rotation punches also mimic real-life movements, like turning to reach for something or stepping in a new direction.
How to do it:
This grounding exercise helps calm an overstimulated nervous system and pull your focus back into the present moment. It’s especially helpful during times of mental fatigue, sensory overload, or emotional tension.
How to do it:
Think small and consistent instead of long and intense. Even five to ten minutes a day can create real change when you repeat the same skills regularly. You can also pair brain exercises with your daily rituals. For example, march while brushing your teeth, do rotation punches before a walk, or practice a sensory reset after working on a computer.
The key is repetition with attention. The more often you ask your brain to practice a specific pathway, the faster it learns to use it automatically.
Try not to stress, It’s normal if improvements feel slow at first. Sometimes the brain is still “searching” for a new pathway before anything becomes visible. That doesn’t mean it isn’t working. Progress with neuroplasticity tends to start internally before you see it externally.
Stay curious, patient, and consistent. Every repetition matters, even when you can’t feel the change yet. Give it a few weeks of regular practice and track your progress in a journal.
The best brain exercises for MS aren’t about working out to failure or thinking so hard you get a headache. They’re about giving your brain the chance to keep getting stronger and learning new ways to support you. Whether you're working on balance, mobility, attention, or confidence, small steps add up in big ways.
If you’re looking for tools that make life with MS a little easier and more comfortable, check out this year’s MS Holiday Gift Guide. Inside, you’ll find items I personally recommend for comfort, mobility, self-care, and daily living.
Have any questions about MS brain exercises? Want to share your progress? Send me a DM @doctor.gretchen — I’d love to hear from you!
Dr. Gretchen Hawley's The MSing Link offers a comprehensive guide to taking control of your MS symptoms and improving your mobility through MS-specific exercises and strategies.
6000+ copies sold in over 13 countries!
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As a physical therapist & Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist, I have spent the last 10 years teaching people with MS how to feel more confident & empowered through MS-specific exercises and strategies.
If you want support and encouragement, plus a healthy dose of tough love, come follow me on Instagram (@doctor.gretchen) or on YouTube @DoctorGretchenHawley. It's where I share daily tips, tricks, and information about new offers — plus, you’re bound to feel more empowered, hopeful, & motivated after watching each post and video!
Questions? Email me at Hello@DoctorGretchenHawley.com
