A Study of the Effect of Supervised Exercise Programme in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

The Effect of 6-weeks Supervised Exercise Programme Followed by 6-weeks Unsupervised Exercise Programme Versus 12 Weeks Unsupervised Exercise Programme in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of a supervised high-intensity exercise programme followed by an unsupervised exercise programme to an unsupervised exercise programme in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis are in general less fit and more at risk of comorbidities such as cardiovascular events compared with healthy age-matched controls. Studies indicates that patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis have a lower level of physical activity than the general population and a low proportion of patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis exercises. Regular exercise with moderate to high intensity level of intensity has proven to be effective in reducing the cardiovascular risk by improving cardiovascular fitness and to increase muscle strength. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate if supervised exercise programme makes a difference making patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis participate in exercise.

Inclusion Criteria:

• diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis within the last three years at Aarhus University Hospital according to the 1987 revised ACR criteria or the 2009 ACR/EULAR criteria
• must be able to sit on an exercise bike
• must be able to participate in 6-weeks exercise programme with training sessions twice a week at Aarhus University Hospital
• must be able to speak and understand danish

Exclusion Criteria:

• high disease activity assessed by DAS28-CRP
• Myocardial Infarction within the last six months
• Angina Pectoris
• treated with beta-blocker
• severe high blood pressure
• severe lung disease