Study: Long-Term Rheumatoid Arthritis Need Not Cut Aerobic Fitness

Long-term rheumatoid arthritis need not diminish the ability of physically active women to maintain their aerobic fitness, according to researchers in Finland.

The researchers compared the aerobic capacity and neruomuscular performance of 11 patients with long-term rheumatoid arthritis to 12 patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and 12 healthy women.

All were tested for maximal aerobid oxygen uptake, muscle force production, walking and jumping.

The researchers reported in the Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology that the maximal aerobic oxygen uptake did not differ significantly between the groups.

However, the found that isometric grip strength was 25 percent lower and bilateral leg extension strength 19 percent lower in the women with long-term rheumatoid arthritis compared to those with early rheumatoid arthritis.

They said women with long-term rheumatoid arthritis also had lower readings for explosive force than those with early rheumatoid arthritis or the healthy women. The trunk muscle forces, however, did not differ between the groups.

"The physically active females even with long-term rheumatoid arthritis could maintain their aerobic fitness comparable to that of age matched healthy subjects," the researchers concluded. "However, the neuromuscular profile suggests that especially explosive strength characteristics of the leg extensors cannot be maintained at the normal level with habitual physical activities."

Other sources: Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology