title: Combined home exercise is more effective than range-of-motion home exercise in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a randomized controlled trial.
abstract: Home exercise is often recommended for management of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS); however, what kind of home exercise is more beneficial for patients with AS has not been determined yet. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of combined home exercise (COMB) and range-of-motion home exercise (ROM) in patients with AS. Nineteen subjects with AS completed either COMB (n = 9) or ROM (n = 10) program. The COMB program included range-of-motion, strengthening, and aerobic exercise while the ROM program consisted of daily range-of-motion exercise only. After exercise instruction, subjects in each group performed home exercise for 3 months. Assessment included cardiopulmonary exercise test, pulmonary function test, spinal mobility measurement, chest expansion, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), and other functional ability and laboratory tests. After exercise, the COMB group showed significant improvement in peak oxygen uptake (12.3%, P = 0.008) and BASFI (P = 0.028), and the changed score between pre- and postexercise data was significantly greater in the COMB group regarding peak oxygen uptake and BASFI. Significant improvement in finger-to-floor distance after 3-month exercise was found only in the COMB group (P = 0.033). This study demonstrates that a combined home exercise is more effective than range-of-motion home exercise alone in aerobic capacity and functional ability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 11101, Taiwan ; School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Lin-Fen
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-0869-5973
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan ; Department of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 11101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Cheng
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chuang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei 11101, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Shiang
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan ; Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan ; Graduate Institute of Integrated Medicine, China Medical University, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Road, South District, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan.
authors.forename: James Cheng-Chung
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan ; National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan ; University of Taipei, Taipei 11153, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 10607, Taiwan ; University of Taipei, Taipei 11153, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Jia
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D013131:Spine / Q000503:physiopathology; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000503:physiopathology*