Aerobic cardio exercise is safe for patients coping with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Aerobic cardio exercise is safe for patients coping with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Relative to healthy people, RA patients are two times more likely to have health-driven limitations on the kinds of activities they can engage in. The 1 percent of the global population that is struck by the disease, which is characterised by swollen joints, pain, stiffness, fatigue and a general sense of being unwell, are also 40 percent more likely to say they are in fair or poor general health, the World Health Organization has noted.
To measure the efficacy and safety of aerobic exercise in rheumatoid arthritis patients, researchers looked at 14 previous studies that focused on RA patients and aerobic exercise. Collectively, the studies included 1,040 patients, evenly divided between those with RA and healthy participants, aged 44 to 68 years. Those with RA had coped with the disease for up to 16 years.
It was found that that patients with stable RA would benefit from regular aerobic exercise. The study also found that regular exercise can lead to less joint pain, higher functioning and an improved quality of life overall for these patients. While past studies have indicated that RA patients are quite physically inactive, these results show aerobic exercise to be a safe and beneficial intervention for this group. Further trials are needed to clearly determine the clinical impact of cardio-respiratory conditioning in the management of RA.
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Relative to healthy people, RA patients are two times more likely to have health-driven limitations on the kinds of activities they can engage in. The 1 percent of the global population that is struck by the disease, which is characterised by swollen joints, pain, stiffness, fatigue and a general sense of being unwell, are also 40 percent more likely to say they are in fair or poor general health, the World Health Organization has noted.
To measure the efficacy and safety of aerobic exercise in rheumatoid arthritis patients, researchers looked at 14 previous studies that focused on RA patients and aerobic exercise. Collectively, the studies included 1,040 patients, evenly divided between those with RA and healthy participants, aged 44 to 68 years. Those with RA had coped with the disease for up to 16 years.
It was found that that patients with stable RA would benefit from regular aerobic exercise. The study also found that regular exercise can lead to less joint pain, higher functioning and an improved quality of life overall for these patients. While past studies have indicated that RA patients are quite physically inactive, these results show aerobic exercise to be a safe and beneficial intervention for this group. Further trials are needed to clearly determine the clinical impact of cardio-respiratory conditioning in the management of RA.
Photo: How to stay fit?
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