Effects of a Personalized Standardized Rehabilitation Program in Systemic Sclerosis

Effects of a Personalized Standardized Rehabilitation Program on the Quality of Life of Patients With Systemic Sclerosis Patients : a Randomized Controlled Trial

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective-tissue disease characterized by excessive collagen deposition, vascular hyper-reactivity and obliterative microvascular phenomena leading to disability, handicap, and worsening of quality of life. Pharmacological treatments are mainly used for vascular involvement. To date, no pharmacological treatment have been shown to be effective for the fibrosis leading to skin, tendon, and joint disability. Our hypothesis is that rehabilitation could be an interesting non pharmacological treatment in order to decrease the handicap of SSc patients. Our objective is to evaluate the effect of a personalized standardized rehabilitation program on the quality of life of SSc patients in a multicentric randomized controlled trial. This trial will compare a personalized standardized rehabilitation program to the usual non pharmacological treatment. The primary outcome measure will be the HAQ DI (Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index). A Zelen design will be used for this study.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Men or women aged from 18 years or more, with diagnostic of SSc considering the ACR and/or Leroy and Medsger's criteria.
• HAQ greater than or equal to 0.5
• A perception of limitation of mouth opening and/or at least one limitation in range of motion due to illness
• Good understanding of the French language

Exclusion Criteria :

• Associated chronic handicap diseases (stroke, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, amputated ....)
• Any underlying disease that may be incompatible with the management, discovery at the inclusion visit
• Cognitive problems making it impossible to assess the primary outcome measure
• Patients with a standardized rehabilitation program within 6 months prior to inclusion
• Impairment of comprehension or expression of the French language
• Patients participating in another clinical trial or participated in another clinical trial in the previous 3 months.