Chair Exercises for MS: Stay Strong and Flexible While Seated

Chair Exercises for MS: How to Stay Strong Without Leaving Your Seat

These exercises support strength, stability, and flexibility.
Chair Exercises for MS: How to Stay Strong Without Leaving Your Seat
Everyday Health
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Published on August 22, 2025
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For people living with multiple sclerosis (MS), staying active can help preserve strength, mobility, and overall function. But symptoms like muscle weakness, poor balance, and fatigue can make regular workouts challenging or even unsafe, especially for people with more advanced MS. That’s where chair exercises come in.

“Chair-based movements can support muscle strength, core stability, and upper body balance and coordination,” says Kameron Jacobson, PT, DPT, a physical therapist at Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Chair exercises offer a great solution for people of all fitness levels, including people with limited mobility. In people with more advanced MS, these movements offer a safe way to stay strong, flexible, and energized. While the exercises are low-impact, they can still make a big difference in maintaining function and quality of life.

FAQ

Are chair exercises safe for everyone with MS?

While these exercises are often easier to perform than standing versions, they’re not always the right fit for every person with MS.

“Symptoms like weakness, spasticity, incoordination, or impaired balance may impact the ability to perform chair exercises safely and may require a trained spotter or partner to participate safely,” says Jacobson.

Always talk to your provider or physical therapist before starting a new routine to ensure the movements are appropriate for your current level of function.

Most chair exercises require minimal equipment, and many can be done with things you already have at home. Jacobson recommends the following:

  • A sturdy chair, with or without arms depending on the exercise and your ability level
  • Resistance bands (for added strength training)
  • Light dumbbells or wrist or ankle weights (optional)
  • Cushions or instability discs (to add core challenge)

Warming up is a good idea; it can help increase blood flow and prepare your muscles and joints for movement.

Jacobson suggests doing gentler versions of your main exercises, including seated marching, slow trunk rotations, or light overhead raises. These can be done with or without resistance, depending on your comfort level.

As with any exercise program, frequency depends on your personal ability and goals. But generally, two to three sessions per week can help maintain or improve strength, says Jacobson.

If you’re also doing other forms of activity such as stretching, walking, or physical therapy, you may not always hit that goal. Aim to be consistent, but don’t overdo it, says Jacobson.

5 Chair Exercises to Help You Stay Strong With MS

These five exercises can be a safe and effective way to strengthen your legs, core, and overall mobility while you’re in a sitting position. As always, go slowly and listen to your body.

For chair exercises, generally between 6 and 20 repetitions is a good range to aim for, over 2 to 5 sets. But the amount of challenge is a better guide than the number of repetitions.

When you have MS, it's important to avoid accumulating too much fatigue. For these exercises, you want your last repetition to look about as good as your first repetition. So when your form starts to degrade, or your limb isn't able to reach up as high as before, stop and rest. The goal is to build up more repetitions or weight over time.

1. Seated March

Title: Seated March. Sit up tall in your chair. Keeping your knees bent, lift one leg off the ground, then lower it and repeat with the other leg. Continue, alternating left and right legs. Raise your knee as high as is comfortable without leaning back.
Everyday Health

Sit up tall in your chair. Keeping your knees bent, lift one leg off the ground, then lower it and repeat with the other leg. Continue, alternating left and right legs. Raise your knee as high as is comfortable without leaning back or arching your back.

Why It Helps This exercise builds strength in the hip flexors — a group of muscles in the front of the hip — and improves coordination, which is important for walking.

2. Long Arc Quad

Title: Long Arc Quad. While seated, slowly straighten one leg out in front of you, then lower it back down. Switch sides and repeat. Move in a controlled way, and avoid locking your knee at the top.
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While seated, slowly straighten one leg out in front of you, then lower it back down. Switch sides and repeat. Move in a controlled way, and avoid locking your knee at the top.

Why It Helps This strengthens the quadriceps, the large muscles in the front of the thigh, which are essential for walking and standing.

3. Seated Cobra

Title: Seated Cobra. Sit up tall and place your hands on your lower back or the sides of your hips. Gently draw your elbows back and toward each other as you lift your chest.
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Sit up tall and place your hands on your lower back or the sides of your hips. Gently draw your elbows back and toward each other as you lift your chest.

Optional additional stretch: Interlace your fingers behind you (only if comfortable) and stretch your arms down toward the floor as you open the chest. Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply 3 to 5 times.

Why It Helps This pose can improve posture and counteract slouching, says Stacie Dooreck, a certified yoga instructor at SunLight Yoga in South Florida. It releases tension in the upper back and shoulders.

“This can be energizing and uplifting, especially for those who spend much of the day sitting,” says Dooreck.

4. Core Rotation

Title: Core Rotation. Sit tall with feet planted firmly on the floor. Reach one arm forward and across your body, rotating your torso in that direction. Return to center and repeat on the other side. Keep your movements slow and controlled.
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Sit tall with feet planted firmly on the floor. Reach one arm forward and across your body, rotating your torso in that direction. Return to center and repeat on the other side. Keep your movements slow and controlled.

Why It Helps This strengthens the abdominal and oblique muscles that support trunk control and balance.

5. Heel and Toe Raises

Title: Heel and Toe Raises. While seated, slowly lift your heels off the ground while keeping your toes down. Lower your heels, then lift your toes off the floor while keeping your heels down. Continue alternating between toes and heels.
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While seated, slowly lift your heels off the ground while keeping your toes down. Lower your heels, then lift your toes off the floor while keeping your heels down. Continue alternating between toes and heels.

Why It Helps This exercise activates the lower leg muscles, which support balance and walking.

The Takeaway

  • Chair exercises can be a powerful tool for staying strong, coordinated, and mobile when you have MS.
  • These seated moves are safe and accessible for many people, especially those with balance issues or fatigue. Just be sure to warm up, use proper form, and speak with a physical therapist if you’re unsure what’s safe for you.
  • With regular practice — ideally two to three times per week — you can build strength and confidence right from your seat.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Exercising With Multiple Sclerosis. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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Jason Chua, MD, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and Division of Movement Disorders at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He received his training at the University of Michigan, where he obtained medical and graduate degrees, then completed a residency in neurology and a combined clinical/research fellowship in movement disorders and neurodegeneration.

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