What if your smartwatch could do more than just count your steps? A new research study is exploring whether fitness trackers — like an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or Garmin — may help predict how multiple sclerosis (MS) progresses.
These findings are especially important because MS is often unpredictable, and earlier insights can help patients and providers make more informed treatment decisions.
Here’s what the latest research suggests, and what it means for you.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system, including the brain and spinal cord.
Common symptoms of MS include:
MS symptoms and progression can vary widely from person to person.
Black people face significant disparities. They are more likely to be undiagnosed or diagnosed later, and often experience more severe symptoms and faster disease progression.
Wrist-worn fitness tracking devices might be able to predict whether a person with multiple sclerosis is more likely to have worsening disability, a new study says.
Data from fitness trackers showed not only who was at higher risk of disease progression, but whose brains might be in danger of deterioration, researchers reported March 4 in the journal Neurology.
“Timely identification of patients at risk for disease progression is essential to reduce long-term disability, but the current tests for measuring MS disability are not designed to detect small changes,” said lead researcher Kathryn Fitzgerald, an assistant professor of neurology and epidemiology with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
“Using a relatively inexpensive and accessible device around the wrist may help us identify early changes in the disease,” she said in a news release.
For the study, researchers equipped 238 people with MS with a fitness tracker that measured how much physical activity they had during the day, how much time they spent sitting or inactive, as well as their sleep cycles.
Participants were asked to wear the devices around the clock for two weeks, and they repeated the process every three months for an average of three years.
During the study, 120 people had their MS progress, and their physical activity patterns reflected those at higher risk, researchers said.
Specifically, people who had decreased activity during the first half of the day were 20 percent more likely to have their MS grow worse than those who had no decreases in their activity level, the study found.
Declines in morning activity levels also were linked to brain atrophy among MS patients, with decreases in whole brain volume, gray matter, and the thalamus – a brain structure that processes sensory and motor information.
“More research is needed to confirm these findings, but it’s exciting to think that using easily accessible devices could help us predict who is at risk of worsening disease and potentially prevent those changes,” senior researcher Dr. Ellen Mowry, director of neuroimmunology and neurological infections at Johns Hopkins University, said in a news release.
“Detecting small changes could also help us speed up research on new treatments,” she said.
Fitness trackers are commonly used to measure steps, movement patterns, activity levels, and heart rate. But beyond everyday use, they can provide continuous, real-world health data — offering insights that may not be captured during occasional doctor visits. For MS patients, wearable technology can capture subtle changes in their movement that may otherwise go unnoticed.
So, what do these findings mean for people living with MS?
A fitness tracker can help patients with MS:
While the study provided some helpful insights, there are a few key limitations you should be aware of:
Access to wearable technology can be challenging for many patients with MS. If fitness trackers become part of standard care, gaps in access to technology could widen disparities if not addressed.
However, when used thoughtfully, these tools could improve monitoring in underserved communities — especially for Black patients, who often face delays in diagnosis and treatment.
Detecting early warning signs of disease progression could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment for Black people with MS, leading to better outcomes and reduced disparities in care.
Wearing a fitness tracker to track your MS can be helpful, but it is not required. If you decide to purchase one, try to focus on trends rather than daily numbers. Data over time can be more useful for tracking significant changes than a single day of activity.
As you gather data, you can decide whether or not you want to share those insights with your provider — it’s completely up to you. Just remember to follow your care plan and any medical advice first before anything else.
Wearable technology like fitness trackers could one day become part of routine MS care. As research continues to evolve, these tools may help patients and providers better understand how the disease changes over time.
In the future, something as simple as your daily movement could play a meaningful role in guiding your care.
More information
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society has more on multiple sclerosis.
SOURCE: American Academy of Neurology, news release, March 4, 2026
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