The results of this review suggest that an individual home-based or supervised exercise program is better than no intervention ; that supervised group physiotherapy is better than home exercises ; and that combined inpatient spa-exercise therapy followed by group physiotherapy is better than group physiotherapy alone
BACKGROUND Ankylosing spondylitis ( AS ) is a chronic , inflammatory rheumatic disease .
Physiotherapy is considered an important part of the overall management of AS .
OBJECTIVES To summarise the available scientific evidence on the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions in the management of AS .
Exercise and changes in health status in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
BACKGROUND Although exercise is a commonly recommended treatment for ankylosing spondylitis ( AS ) , little is known about the effectiveness of unsupervised recreational and back exercises . We examined the effects of recreational exercise and back exercises on  patient-reported pain severity , stiffness severity , and functional disability  in a prospect i ve longitudinal study of 220 patients with AS . METHODS Participants provided information on exercise habits and health status every 6 months using mailed question naires ( median follow-up , 4.5 years ) . Pain severity and stiffness severity were measured using visual analog scales , and functional disability was measured using the Health Assessment Question naire ( HAQ ) Disability Index . RESULTS Among all patients , there were no associations between either the number of exercise minutes per week or the number of days of back exercise per week and short-term ( 6-month ) changes in pain , stiffness , or HAQ Disability Index . However , among those who had AS for 15 years or less , pain scores were 0.18 points lower ( on a scale of 0 - 3 ; P = .04 ) , and stiffness scores were 6.4 points lower ( on a scale of 0 - 100 ; P = .005 ) during periods with more than 200 minutes per week of exercise compared with periods with 0 to 30 minutes of exercise per week . Among those who had AS for more than 15 years , pain scores were 0.11 points lower ( on a scale of 0 - 3 ; P = . 03 ) , and HAQ Disability Indexes were 0.08 points lower ( on a scale of 0 - 3 ; P<.001 ) during periods with 5 to 7 days per week of back exercise compared with periods when back exercises were not performed . Less intense levels of exercise were not associated with improvements in health status . CONCLUSIONS Unsupervised recreational exercise improves pain and stiffness , and back exercise improves pain and function in patients with AS , but these effects differ with the duration of AS . Health status is improved when patients perform recreational exercise at least 30 minutes per day and back exercises at least 5 days per week . Arch Intern Med . 2000;160:2969 -
The results of this review suggest that an individual home-based or supervised exercise program is better than no intervention ; that supervised group physiotherapy is better than home exercises ; and that combined inpatient spa-exercise therapy followed by group physiotherapy is better than group physiotherapy alone
BACKGROUND Ankylosing spondylitis ( AS ) is a chronic , inflammatory rheumatic disease .
Physiotherapy is considered an important part of the overall management of AS .
OBJECTIVES To summarise the available scientific evidence on the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions in the management of AS .