Effect of Short-Term Physical Training on Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis I

Abstract

Thirty-four patients with rheumatoid arthritis, aged 38 to 63 years (mean age 56 years), were studied before and after a 6-week stay in hospital. Twenty-three of these patients underwent special physical training twice a day during this period. Physical performance, cardio-respiratory fitness and muscle strength improved significantly in the training group. In the control group there were no major changes in these measurements during this period except for an increase in muscle strength. Perceived exertion during submaximal exercise was much lower in the training group following the conditioning. Joint status was virtually unchanged over the experimental period in both groups. It is postulated that the low physical performance seen in these types of RA patients may, to a large extent, be attributed to lack of physical activity.

Efficacy of physical conditioning exercise in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

“…These results confirm previous findings that people with arthritis can exercise to improve fitness without experiencing exacerbation of their arthritis signs and symptoms (12)(13)(14)(15)(16). Our findings also demonstrate the efficacy of a specific prescriptive exercise performed in a group setting for both full weightbearing (walking) and partial weight-bearing (aquatic) exercise protocols.…”

A health professional's guide to exercise prescription for people with arthritis: A review of aerobic fitness activities

“…In addition, several studies included strengthening and flexibility exercises as part of the intervention. Exercise adherence rates appear to be related to the length of the intervention; however, this may not be an accurate conclusion, because adherence was not identified in several studies (56,58,59) and was unclear in others (54,80). Aerobic capacity improved in the majority of the studies reporting these data but to the greatest extent in cycling interventions.…”

Physical interventions in the management of pain in arthritis an overview for research and practice

“…It also appears that aerobic and strengthening exercise may have a positive effect on some diseaserelated variables, including pain [71-741. In most exercise studies, general pain and joint pain have been measured to monitor for harm and assess disease activity. In a study of physical training for persons with RA, Ekblom and colleagues [75] found no difference in activity-related pain in the exercise and control groups during the initial exercise intervention. At 6-month follow-up the exercise group reported less pain than the controls [76].…”