Does arthritis make your life miserable? Try a workout … or a talk! Being active could help patients fight paralyzing fatigue, the study suggests
- Exercise and talking therapy can help thousands of patients with arthritis
- The universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow said those who had speech or exercise therapy significantly reduced fatigue levels versus those receiving regular care.
- The benefits continued for six months after the end of treatment
By health correspondent Shaun Wooller for the Daily Mail
Posted: 23:30, 27 June 2022 | Updated: 11:30 p.m., June 27, 2022
Exercise and speech therapy could help thousands of rheumatoid arthritis patients fight paralyzing fatigue, a study suggests.
Those suffering from other inflammatory diseases, such as lupus and axial spondylitis, could also benefit from the treatments, which should be part of routine care, experts say.
Around 800,000 people in the UK have these conditions and four out of five of them live with fatigue every day.
This affects their ability to concentrate, go to work or live independently.
Researchers at the universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow examined how to reduce fatigue among these patients.
The researchers found that those who had speech therapy or exercise therapy for arthritis significantly reduced their fatigue levels compared to those receiving regular care.
They compared three types of care to 368 people with various inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Participants received physical activity programs over the phone, cognitive behavioral therapy, or received regular care.
Those in the exercise group had five individual 45-minute sessions lasting 30 weeks, while those in speech therapy received an average of eight sessions during the same period. The regular care group received an education notebook on fatigue.
The researchers found that those who had conversation therapy or exercise therapy significantly reduced their fatigue levels compared to those receiving regular care.
The benefits continued for six months after the end of treatment, according to the study published in the Lancet Rheumatology.
And those who offered these interventions reported an improvement in sleep, mental health, and quality of life, compared to those who received regular care.
Wendy Booth, 57, of Pitmedden, Aberdeenshire, had to give up her job as a psychiatric nurse at Royal Cornhill Hospital, Aberdeen, after suffering from lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome.
She said, “Fatigue really affects what you can do. If one day I do a job in the garden, I know I’ll pay for it the next day.
A pharmacist shows a box of tocilizumab, which is used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. The universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow said those who had speech or exercise therapy significantly reduced fatigue levels versus those receiving regular care.
Miss Booth, who did physical activity in the studio, added: “The physiotherapist called me once every fortnight and encouraged me a lot. I think the study helped me give myself a purpose. I went I join a gym and I have a good instructor who understands my skills and does me modified exercises so I can continue in the same class with everyone else.
“Meanwhile, I feel stronger and physically fit; my motto is ‘I want to keep what I have,’ instead of deteriorating.”
Professor Neil Basu, who led most of the research at the University of Aberdeen but is now at the University of Glasgow, said: “Our study provides new evidence that some non-pharmacological interventions can be performed with success and effectiveness for non-specialist members of the clinical service.
“It has been encouraging to see that the interventions have led to improvements for participants, even six months after the end of treatment.”
Dr Neha Issar-Brown, director of research for the charity Versus Arthritis, said: “Fatigue and chronic pain go hand in hand.
“But fatigue tends not to respond to medications for these conditions, and is often not recognized by doctors.”