Effects of supervised exercise program and home exercise program in patients with systemic sclerosis: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aim To compare the effects of supervised exercise and home exercise program in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods Thirty‐seven SSc patients were included. Patients with SSc were allocated into 2 groups as supervised and home exercise. Breathing, aerobic and resistance exercises were performed with a physiotherapist for 12 weeks in the supervised exercise group. Breathing, posture and aerobic exercises were given to the home exercise group as a home program for 12 weeks. All patients were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks later in terms of functional capacity, pulmonary functions, respiratory‐peripheral muscle strength, dyspnea severity, health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and fatigue level. Results Significant improvements were observed in the functional capacity, measured by 6 minute walking test in the supervised exercise group (before = 376.21 ± 65.50, after = 518.78 ± 75.84 m) and home exercise group (before = 384.44 ± 68.14, after = 432.7 ± 70.8 m; (P < .05). Respiratory‐peripheral muscle strength (with the exception of inspiratory muscle strength and upper limb strength in the home exercise group) and HRQoL were significantly increased and fatigue level was significantly decreased in the supervised exercise and home exercise groups (P < .05). However, pulmonary functions and dyspnea severity were significantly improved only in the supervised exercise group (P < .05). The supervised exercise program was found superior to the home exercise program for change in all parameters (P < .05). Conclusion This study suggests that exercise interventions should be applied in addition to the medical treatments of patients with SSc as supervised and home exercise programs play an important role in the functionality and health status of these patients.

Minimal Clinically Important Differences (MCID) for the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy Fatigue Scale in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis

“…We found muscle weakness also has a significant impact upon fatigue perception (Table 2). The beneficial effect of improving physical condition including muscle strength is supported by previous studies [48,49], in which SSc patients, who participated in a complex training program, achieved improvements regarding many aspects of their conditions, including fatigue.…”

Effects of a telerehabilitation-based exercise program in patients with systemic sclerosis

“…Fatigue in SSc has been found to have a similar prevalence to other rheumatologic diseases and is reported to be one of the most common symptoms experienced. Exercise has been found to reduce fatigue in SSc patients [ 29 – 31 ]. In the literature, we could not find any study investigating the efficiency of the telerehabilitation program on fatigue in SSc; however, in individuals with multiple sclerosis, fatigue was significantly reduced with a telerehabilitation-based exercise program [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Can home rehabilitation impact impulse oscillometry and lung ultrasound findings in patients with scleroderma-associated interstitial lung disease? A pilot study

“…In fact, one of the most striking findings of our study was the improvement in SAD post-TOHR. Yakut et al [ 24 ] compared the effects of supervised exercise and a home exercise programme in patients with scleroderma for 12 weeks and observed that pulmonary function assessed by spirometry and by the diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide and the severity of dyspnoea improved significantly only in the group engaging in supervised exercises ( P < 0.05). Notably, improvement in traditional PFTs has not been described in chronic lung diseases after rehabilitation [ 25 ].…”