Patients who performed the Qigong exercise program

Patients who performed a home exercise program

The intervention group will perform a qigong exercise program online (via Zoom video conference) for 12 weeks under the supervision of two physiotherapists. The qigong exercise program had previously been videotaped by the researchers.

qigong exercise program includes: Preparation posture Prop up the sky by two improve trijiao Draw a bow on both sides like shooting a vulture Raise single arm up to regulate spleen Look back to treat five strains and seven impairments Shake the head and wag to expel Heart (Xin)-fire Pull toes with both hands to reinforce the kidney Clench one's fist and glare to increase strength Rise and fall on tiptoe sevan times to treat all diseases Ending posture. Qigong exercises will be performed 45 minutes twice in a week for 12 weeks.

The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) will be used to assess disease activity. The index, designed by a multidisciplinary team with input from patients, consists of six 10 cm horizontal visual analog scales to measure severity of fatigue, spinal and peripheral joint pain, localized tenderness and morning stiffness (both qualitative and quantitative). The final BASDAI score has a range of 0 to 10.

The functional capacity of the patient will be evaluated with The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI). BASFI is a set of 10 questions designed to determine the degree of functional limitation in patients with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). The 10 questions were chosen with a major input from patients with AS. The first 8 questions are about everyday tasks and dependent on functional anatomy (bending, reaching, changing position, standing, turning, and climbing steps with or without rail) while the final 2 questions assess the patients' ability to cope with everyday life. Each item is scored on a scale of 0-10.

Axial involvement in the patient will be evaluated with the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index. The Bath AS Metrology Index (BASMI) is a validated composite index of spinal and hip mobility comprising measures of cervical rotation, tragus-to-wall distance, lumbar spinal forward and side flexion, and hip abduction.

The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index will be used to evaluate the sleep quality of patients. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) is a self-rated questionnaire which assesses sleep quality and disturbances over a 1-month time interval.