This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of asynchronously implemented telerehabilitation-supported respiratory physiotherapy and function-oriented trunk stabilization exercises, which have not been previously applied in individuals with RA-IAH.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
10
Teach respiratory exercises and function-focused trunk stabilization exercises to individuals with RA-IAH via online platforms. Subsequently, instructional exercise videos will be delivered to the patients online. The respiratory exercise training will include thoracic expansion and diaphragmatic breathing exercises. The program will consist of a warm-up phase including 10 minutes of trunk stabilization exercises, a 40-minute functional exercise session targeting the upper and lower extremities with trunk stabilization, followed by a cooldown phase including 10 minutes of flexibility exercises involving trunk stabilization. The exercise videos related to these phases will be sent to the participants online. Participants will start the exercises with 6 repetitions and will be encouraged to increase to 8 repetitions as the program progresses. The assigned physiotherapist will contact patients once a week by phone to monitor exercise adherence.
Pamukkale University
Denizli, Malatya, Turkey (Türkiye)
Oxygen Saturation Measurement
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Evaluation of respiratory muscle strength
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Modified Borg Scale
Although it is frequently used today to define the severity of exertional dyspnea, it is also a scale that can be used to evaluate the severity of resting dyspnea. It consists of ten items that define the severity of dyspnea according to their degrees.
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Modified Medical Research Council Dyspnea Scale
It is a scale based on various physical activities that cause dyspnea. It consists of five items. The patient rates respiratory distress between 0 (no shortness of breath) and 4 (shortness of breath during activities such as being homebound and dressing).
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Visual Analog Scale
It consists of a 100 mm long horizontal line with the words "none" and "very severe" written on one end. The patient marks the severity of the current respiratory distress on the line using these two degrees as criteria. Scoring is done by measuring the marked area with the help of a tape measure.
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Leicester Cough Survey
Measures the effect of cough on quality of life. It consists of 19 questions. It has psychological, social and physical sub-dimensions. The cut-off value of the scale is not defined; low scores indicate being more affected by cough, i.e. worse quality of life.
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
St. George's Respiratory Survey
It will be used to evaluate the health-related quality of life of the cases. SGRQ consists of three categories where the symptoms, activities and the effects of the disease on their daily lives are evaluated. The symptoms examined are cough, sputum, wheezing and shortness of breath. Physical functions, housework and hobbies are questioned to determine the activity status. These are activities limited by shortness of breath. The survey consisting of a total of 76 questions is completed in 20 minutes. There is an evaluation scale between zero and 100 points. Zero indicates perfect health status, 100 indicates the worst health status.
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Short Form-36 Quality of Life Survey
Short form-36 is a quality of life scale consisting of 36 items that can be filled by the patient and whose validity and reliability have been shown in studies in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. The Turkish version of SF-36 was used in our study. This scale includes 8 separate health-related headings as physical function (10 items), social function (2 items), physical role limitation (4 items), emotional role limitation (3 items), mental health (5 items), vitality (4 items), pain (2 items), general health (6 items).
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Health Assessment Questionnaire
Since it evaluates activities of daily living comprehensively and in all dimensions, HAQ was preferred in our study to assess the disability level. It includes 20 questions across 8 domains (dressing, arising, eating, walking, hygiene, reach, grip, and common activities). Each question is scored between 0 and 3 (without any difficulty = 0, with some difficulty = 1, with much difficulty = 2, unable to do = 3). The highest score of each subsection is summed up and divided by 8 to determine the total score between 0 and 3. A high score indicates a low functional level
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.
Disease Activity
Disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis will be assessed using the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI). This index is calculated based on four main parameters: the number of painful joints, the number of swollen joints, the visual analog scale of global disease activity as assessed by the patient, and the visual analog scale of global disease activity as assessed by the physician. CDAI scores of 0-2.8 indicate remission, 2.9-10 indicate low disease activity, 11-22 indicate moderate activity, and 22-76 indicate high activity.
Time frame: Evaluations started immediately after receiving ethics committee approval and will be completed within 3 months, which is the study period.