Strengthening exercises to improve hand strength and functionality in rheumatoid arthritis with hand deformities: a randomized, controlled trial

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory and chronic disease of joints, which may result in irreversible deformities. To evaluate the effects of an exercise programme aimed at improving the hand strength in individuals with hand deformities resulting from RA and to analyse the impact these exercises have on functionality. Twenty women with RA hand deformities participated in the study. They were randomly divided into two groups as follows: Group 1 (n = 13) had women participating in the exercise programme aimed at improving handgrip (HS) and pinch strengths (PS) as well as the motor coordination of the hand; Group 2 (n = 7) had women with RA who received no treatment for their hands (control). The treatment programme for hands consisted of 20 sessions, twice a week and at-home exercises. Both groups were submitted to Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and evaluation of HS and PS by means of dynamometry. Re-evaluations were performed after 10 and 20 sessions in Group 1 and after 2 months in Group 2. After 20 sessions of physiotherapy, Group 1 had a significant gain in HS and PS (p < 0.05) in addition to the improvement of functionality as assessed by HAQ (p = 0.016). For Group 2, no difference was found between the variables analysed (p > 0.05). The strengthening exercises for individuals with RA hand deformity are beneficial to improve handgrip and pinch strengths as well as functionality.

Handgrip Strength Does Not Represent an Appropriate Measure to Evaluate Changes in Muscle Strength During an Exercise Intervention Program in Frail Older People

“…In doing so, we were able to show that there is indeed an overall learning effect, but no effect of resistance-type exercise training compared with control on handgrip strength (Table 2). Another explanation of the apparent discrepancy might be the type of exercise training (Cima et al 2013;Speed & Campbell, 2012;Sarti et al, 2013;Tsourlou et al, 2006;Vestergaard et al, 2008). In older people with rheumatic arthritis for example, specific handgrip exercises would allow improvements in handgrip strength (Cima et al, 2013;Speed & Campbell, 2012).…”

“…Another explanation of the apparent discrepancy might be the type of exercise training (Cima et al 2013;Speed & Campbell, 2012;Sarti et al, 2013;Tsourlou et al, 2006;Vestergaard et al, 2008). In older people with rheumatic arthritis for example, specific handgrip exercises would allow improvements in handgrip strength (Cima et al, 2013;Speed & Campbell, 2012). In traditional wholebody progressive resistance-type exercise training, however, the current study clearly shows that handgrip strength does not represent a valid measure to evaluate changes in muscle strength and physical performance.…”

“…From previous work, it could be suggested that handgrip strength might be an appropriate measurement to evaluate changes during specific hormonal (Page et al, 2005), pharmaceutical (Park et al, 2013), and handgrip strengthening therapies (Cima et al, 2013). In traditional whole-body resistance-type exercise training, however, we clearly show that handgrip strength does not represent a valid measure to evaluate changes in muscle strength and physical performance.…”

Assessment of functional capacity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: implications for recommending exercise

“…In RA patients, as well as in elderly subjects, the decrease in overall muscle force is associated with decreased functionality of the hands 19 and with the negative effects of chronic inflammation. 18 Material -A handgrip dynamometer.…”

Relationship Between Arthritis And Muscular Strength In Older Women With Symptoms Of Sarcopenia

“…Arthritis is a chronic disease characterized by joint stiffness and inflammation, which can often result in joint deformities from swelling and osteophyte formation as well as decreased functionality [19][20][21][22]. In the United States, arthritis is the most common cause of disability and between 2013 and 2015, approximately 54.4 million adults were diagnosed with arthritis [23].…”