New research suggests wearable sensors that track activity levels—something many people already wear around their wrists—may show changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) progression earlier than traditional clinical tests.
In a recent study, published on March 4, 2026, in Neurology®, researchers report that wearable sensors may help identify people with MS who are at a higher risk of worsening disability and brain volume loss. This was an observational study, meaning it followed people over time to look for patterns, not to test a treatment.
The study participants wore a device around their wrists that measured daily movement and rest patterns. Over time, they found that people who had changes in their activity patterns were more likely to experience worsening disability and loss of brain volume than people whose activity patterns did not change much or at all.
People who had lower activity levels in the morning were more likely to have loss of volume in their brains. The researchers emphasize that changes in activity did not cause MS to worsen but were linked with worsening outcomes.
“Timely identification of patients at risk for disease progression is essential to reduce long-term disability,” said study author Kathryn C. Fitzgerald, ScD, ScM of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She explains that traditional disability tests often miss small changes, and wearables could help researchers and physicians identify early changes in the disease.
The researchers considered things that can affect daily movement, like recent MS relapses or other serious health problems. Because the study didn’t include people without MS, it’s harder to tell which changes were related to the disease itself and which might be a normal result of aging. The participants were an average of 55 years old and had lived with MS for an average of 13 years. The results may not apply to younger people or those who haven’t had MS for that many years. Limitations aside, the findings offer an encouraging look at how simple wearable devices could one day add useful context to how MS progression is tracked.
