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 .
Spa therapy for ankylosing spondylltis at the Dead Sea.
BACKGROUND The efficacy of spa therapy in ankylosing spondylitis has not been investigated extensively . OBJECTIVE To study the efficacy of balneotherapy and climatic therapy ( climatotherapy ) at the Dead Sea area in patients with ankylosing spondylitis . METHODS In a single-blind r and omized controlled study , 28 patients suffering from ankylosing spondylitis were allocated into two groups of 14 patients each . The first group ( the combined treatment group ) received balneotherapy ( mud packs and sulfur pool ) and exposure to the unique climatic conditions of the Dead Sea . The second group ( the climatotherapy group ) used the fresh water pool and experienced the same climatic conditions . The duration of treatment was 2 weeks and the follow-up period 3 months . RESULTS For both patient groups a significant improvement was found in the outcome measures : Bath AS Disease Activity Index ( P = 0.002 ) , VisuarAnalog Scale for pain ( P = 0.002 ) and VAS for spinal movement ( P = 0.011 ) . The variability was explained by the effect of time ( within group effect ) rather than the type of treatment ( between group effect ) . Quality of life , assessed by the SF-36 question naire , was very low prior to the study , but improved in terms of pain amelioration in the combined treatment group . CONCLUSIONS Climatotherapy at the Dead Sea area can improve the condition of patients suffering from long-st and ing ankylosing spondylitis
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 .