0000000000114701
AUTHOR
Pekka Hannonen
Effects of concurrent strength and endurance training in women with early or longstanding rheumatoid arthritis: Comparison with healthy subjects
Objective To investigate the effects of a 21-week concurrent strength and endurance training protocol on physical fitness profile in women with early or longstanding rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with healthy subjects. Methods Twenty-three female patients with RA volunteered for the study. Twelve had early RA and eleven had longstanding RA. Twelve healthy women served as controls. Maximal strength of different muscle groups was measured by dynamometers, walking speed with light cells, and vertical squat jump on the force platform to mirror explosive force. Maximal oxygen uptake was measured by gas analyzer. Six training sessions (3 strength training and 3 endurance training) were carri…
Stability of the upper neck during isometric neck exercises in rheumatoid arthritis patients with atlantoaxial disorders.
To study the effect of isometric neck strength exercises on upper cervical stability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).Twenty patients with a mean (SD) age of 58 (9) years and duration of RA of 27 (10) years volunteered for the study. Lateral radiographs of the cervical spine were taken to measure the current atlantoaxial distance (AAD) in flexion and extension. Maximal isometric neck flexion and extension strength values were measured by a dynamometer. Thereafter, AADs were measured from radiographs taken at 80-90% resistance of maximal strength.According to the full flexion radiographs at baseline, the patients were classified into three groups: eight patients without anterior at…
Muscle strength in healthy people and in patients suffering from recent-onset inflammatory arthritis.
Neuromuscular function was compared among 20 patients with relatively recent onset (symptomatic period 17 +/- 24 months) rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (experimental group; EG), and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy people (control group; CG). The comparison was repeated after a period of 6 months, when 16 patients had carried out progressive strength training. At baseline maximal grip strength and maximal dynamic unilateral strength of the knee extensors in the EG were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in comparison to the CG. The groups did not differ from each other in maximal isometric strength of the trunk flexors and extensors or the knee extensors. The 6-month dynamic strength training in the …
Muscle hypertrophy, strength development, and serum hormones during strength training in elderly women with fibromyalgia.
To examine the effects of strength training on maximal force, cross-sectional area (CSA), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of muscles and serum hormone concentrations in elderly females with fibromyalgia (FM).Twenty-six patients with FM were randomly assigned to a training (FMT; n = 13; mean age 60 years) or a control (FMC; n = 13; 59 years) group. FMT performed progressive strength training twice a week for 21 weeks. The measurements included maximal isometric and concentric leg extension forces, EMG activity of the vastus lateralis and medialis, CSA of the quadriceps femoris, and serum concentrations of testosterone (T), free testosterone (FT), growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth…
A physically demanding occupation predicts premature retirement among patients with erosive arthritis
The aim of this study was to assess the intensity of exercise and energy expenditure of patients with recent onset inflammatory arthritis in their occupational environments and leisure time physical activities. The exercise intensities and energy expenditures of 41 early inflammatory arthritis patients and 20 matched healthy controls were assessed in occupational work and in leisure time physical activities during a 3.5-year follow-up using metabolic unit values. Disease activity was assessed by erythrocyte sedimentation rate and Ritchie's articular index. Subjective disability was assessed by the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire and the extent of joint damage on X-rays of the hands…
Scores for functional disability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis are correlated at higher levels with pain scores than with radiographic scores
Objective To analyze correlations of functional disability scores with other measures of clinical status, in particular, Larsen radiographic scores and pain scores, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods The functional capacity of 141 patients with RA (102 women, 39 men; median age 57 years; median disease duration 11.8 years; 83% rheumatoid factor positive) was assessed according to the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ). Other variables studied included Larsen scores for radiographic damage of the small joints of the hands, wrists, and feet, pain scores by visual analog scale (VAS), Disease Activity Scores, general health scores by VAS, and Beck Depression Invento…
Acute heavy-resistance exercise–induced pain and neuromuscular fatigue in elderly women with fibromyalgia and in healthy controls: Effects of strength training
Objective To examine heavy-resistance exercise–induced acute neuromuscular fatigue, blood lactate concentration, and muscle pain in elderly women with fibromyalgia (FM) and in healthy controls before and after a period of strength training. Methods Thirteen elderly women with FM (mean ± SD age 60 ± 2 years) and 10 healthy women (mean ± SD age 64 ± 3 years) performed a heavy-resistance fatiguing protocol (5 sets of leg presses with 10 repetitions maximum) before and after a 21-week strength training period. Maximal isometric force and electromyography (EMG) activity of leg extensors and blood lactate concentration were measured during the loading. Pain was assessed by visual analog scale. Re…
FRI0056 Joint damage in patients with rheumatoid arthritis over 15-20 years – are there differences between women and men?
Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is suggested to be a more severe disease in women than in men as disease activity appears higher in women and men meet remission criteria more often than women do. Long-term severity of RA can be analyzed from permanent joint damage in radiographs. Objectives To study possible differences in the extent of radiographic joint damage between women and men in four early RA cohorts with 15 or more years of prospective follow-up. Methods Early RA cohorts with prospective longitudinal observations include following cohorts: Jyvaskyla Central Hospital with 70 patients from 1990’s (JYV1990) and 135 patients from the 1980’s (JYV1980), Lund University Hospital with…
Strength training and stretching versus stretching only in the treatment of patients with chronic neck pain: a randomized one-year follow-up study
Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a 12-month home-based combined strength training and stretching programme against stretching alone in the treatment of chronic neck pain. Design: A randomized follow-up study. Participants: One hundred and one patients with chronic non-specific neck pain were randomized in two groups. Intervention: The strength training and stretching group was supported by 10 group training sessions and the stretching group was instructed to perform stretching exercises only as instructed in one group session. Main outcome measurements: Neck pain, disability, neck muscle strength and mobility of cervical spine were measured before and after the intervention. Resu…
Effects of Concurrent Strength and Endurance Training on Physical Fitness and Symptoms in Postmenopausal Women With Fibromyalgia: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Abstract Valkeinen H, Alen M, Hakkinen A, Hannonen P, Kukkonen-Harjula K, Hakkinen K. Effects of concurrent strength and endurance training on physical fitness and symptoms in postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial. Objective To examine the effectiveness of concurrent strength and endurance training on muscle strength, aerobic and functional performance, and symptoms in postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia (FM). Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Local gym and university research laboratory. Participants Twenty-six women with FM. Intervention Progressive and supervised 21-week concurrent strength and endurance training. Main Outcome Measures Muscle …
PREDICTION OF SEVERE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS USING EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS
One of the immunological abnormalities in patients with RA is increased synthesis of immunoglobulins (Ig) in cultures of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV-) stimulated lymphocytes. We set out to investigate whether this feature, seen early in the disease, associated with later severe RA. We studied prospectively 45 patients with recent onset RA and, 41 healthy individuals. From 0-6 months after admission, blood lymphocytes were cultured in the presence of EBV for 4 weeks and Ig in the supernatants were assayed. To assess the severity of disease, clinical, laboratory and radiological evaluations were performed every 6 months for 2 yr. The association of increased Ig production with the severity of RA …
Physical Fitness in Postmenopausal Women with Fibromyalgia
The purpose of this study was to compare physical fitness and health-related quality-of-life between twenty-three postmenopausal women with fibromyalgia (age 58 +/- 3 years) and eleven healthy women (58 +/- 5 years). Aerobic fitness and isometric force of different muscle groups were measured. Functional performance was assessed by walking and stair-climbing times. Symptoms were assessed by visual analog scale and quality-of-life by RAND-36 questionnaire. Women with fibromyalgia had significantly lower isometric force in bilateral leg extensors (1285 vs. 1898 N), unilateral knee extensors (414 vs. 502 N) and flexors (197 vs. 235 N) than healthy women, but no differences were observed in for…
Effects of Strength Training on Neuromuscular Function and Disease Activity in Patients with Recent-onset Inflammatory Arthritis
Thirty-nine consecutive patients with recent-onset rheumatoid or psoriatic arthritis were randomly allotted for six months period either to the experimental progressive dynamic strength training group (EG, 10 women and 11 men; 41 +/- 10 yrs), or to the control group (CG, 10 women and 8 men; 45 +/- 11 yrs) who just maintained their habitual physical activities. All patients received antirheumatic medication throughout the experimental period. During the study period significant improvements took place in the EG in maximal muscle strength of all examined muscle groups (31.5% for the knee extensors, p0.001; 14.8% and 10.7% for the trunk flexors and extensors, p0.01; 27.8% and 20.4% for grip st…
Muscle strength characteristics and central bone mineral density in women with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis compared with healthy controls.
Muscle strength and bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine (BMDspine) and femoral neck (BMDfem) were determined in 20 healthy women and in 20 women with recent onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The mean duration of articular symptoms of the patients was eleven months and none of them had used glucocorticoids or disease modifying antirheumatic drugs. BMDs were measured by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Knee extension, trunk extension, and flexion as well as grip strength were measured with David 200 and Digitest dynamometers. BMDspine (1.17 g/cm2 and 1.20 g/cm2) and BMDfem (0.98 g/cm2 and 0.96 g/cm2) between the women with early RA and healthy women did not differ. However, knee ext…
Analysis of impaired in vitro immunoglobulin synthesis in rheumatoid arthritis.
Decreased immunoglobulin production in pokeweed mitogen driven lymphocyte cultures has been reported in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Here various activators and experimental designs have been used to determine the contribution of B cells, T cells, or monocytes to this low response. Sixty patients with RA and paired controls were studied at the onset of disease and again six months later. Concentrations of IgA, IgG, and IgM in cultures of RA peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with thymus dependent activators were already decreased at the onset of the disease. Six months later RA mononuclear cells produced even lower concentrations of immunoglobulin. In contrast, stimulation with a T…