Tag Archives: exercise rheumatoid arthritis

rheumatoid arthritis

Interval Training: A HIIT for RA?

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) tops the American College of Sports Medicine’s list of most popular workouts. According to a small study published in Arthritis Research & Therapy, it might be just the ticket for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), too.

HIIT is an aerobic, heart-pumping form of exercise where short bursts of maximum effort, usually lasting from 20 to 60 seconds, alternate with less intense recovery periods. Studies suggest that HIIT is as effective at burning calories and improving heart and lung health as steady-state exercises like running or biking. One 2018 meta-analysis found that HIIT was significantly better than moderately intense steady exercise for patients with heart disease.

Only a few small studies have looked at HIIT for people who have RA.  On the whole, they showed that participants lost weight, gained muscle and improved their joint health without any increase in inflammation or pain. But researchers at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, wanted to learn more, including whether HIIT could improve disease activity and immune function.

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rheumatoid arthritis research briefs remission exercise

RA Research Briefs: Remission, Biologics, Exercise

Keep up-to-date on the latest rheumatoid arthritis (RA) research with our brief research summaries.

Smoking, Obesity Make RA Harder to Control

Remission in RA patients can be harder to achieve in those who are overweight or smoke, according to a recent study. American and Canadian researchers who collected data on more than 1,100 patients receiving standard treatment for RA found that sex (being female), excess weight and smoking were not significantly associated with symptom severity early on. However, all three factors influenced how much symptoms improved over time. The most dramatic differences in symptoms were seen in patients who were overweight or obese and smoked, the study found.

Source: ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, November 2016

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RA Exercise Fatigue

Can a Pedometer Help Fight Rheumatoid Arthritis-Related Fatigue?

The key to helping people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fight fatigue may be – literally and figuratively – a walk in the park, according to research presented at the 2015 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting. Researchers from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) found that modest exercise decreased fatigue and that a pedometer – plus a bit of guidance – helped increase the amount people exercised.

“Fatigue is one of the top-rated concerns; it has multiple sources and causes. We know from earlier studies that physical inactivity is associated with fatigue,” says lead study author Patricia Katz, PhD, a professor of medicine and health policy at UCSF. “We wanted an intervention that is simple, exportable and has few barriers to implementation.”

Katz and her team measured the activity level of 96 people with RA for one week, and had them fill out questionnaires. Then the participants were randomly divided into three groups. One group was educated on the need to be active. The second group was given a pedometer and a diary to record their daily steps. The third group got a pedometer, a step diary plus personalized daily step targets. The step targets were based on each person’s starting activity level and increased 10%every two weeks. Groups two and three also got phone calls every two weeks to collect the information from their step diaries.
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