Albrecht Falkenbach1. 1. Gasteiner Heilstollen Hospital, Bad Gastein-Böckstein, Bad Gastein, Austria. falke@gasteiner-heilstollen.com
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether patients with ankylosing spondylitis who perform disease-specific exercises more frequently have fewer functional limitations and disability than those who exercise more often. DESIGN: Cross-sectional; retrospective chart review. SETTING: Rehabilitation center in Austria. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 1,500 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (1,163 men, 337 women; mean age +/- standard deviation, 50+/-12 y; disease duration, 21+/-11 y) grouped by how many times per week they performed disease-specific exercises for at least 5 minutes: group A (n=542), less than 1 time; group B (n=691), 1 to 3 times; and group C (n=267), more than 3 times. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-report of exercise frequency and a German version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire for the spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S). RESULTS: The HAQ-S showed significant differences among the groups (analysis of variance on ranks, P<.001). In pairwise multiple comparison, group A showed significantly less disability (median, 0.5; interquartile range [IQR], 0.2-0.8) than group B (median, 0.6; IQR, 0.3-0.9) or group C (median, 0.7; IQR, 0.3-1.0). CONCLUSION: Patients with less disability exercised less than their more disabled counterparts. The reasons for this difference, particularly the issue of motivation, deserve more attention. Copyright 2003 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether patients with ankylosing spondylitis who perform disease-specific exercises more frequently have fewer functional limitations and disability than those who exercise more often. DESIGN: Cross-sectional; retrospective chart review. SETTING: Rehabilitation center in Austria. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 1,500 patients with ankylosing spondylitis (1,163 men, 337 women; mean age +/- standard deviation, 50+/-12 y; disease duration, 21+/-11 y) grouped by how many times per week they performed disease-specific exercises for at least 5 minutes: group A (n=542), less than 1 time; group B (n=691), 1 to 3 times; and group C (n=267), more than 3 times. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-report of exercise frequency and a German version of the Health Assessment Questionnaire for the spondyloarthropathies (HAQ-S). RESULTS: The HAQ-S showed significant differences among the groups (analysis of variance on ranks, P<.001). In pairwise multiple comparison, group A showed significantly less disability (median, 0.5; interquartile range [IQR], 0.2-0.8) than group B (median, 0.6; IQR, 0.3-0.9) or group C (median, 0.7; IQR, 0.3-1.0). CONCLUSION:Patients with less disability exercised less than their more disabled counterparts. The reasons for this difference, particularly the issue of motivation, deserve more attention. Copyright 2003 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation