Arthritis Ireland Arthritis Ireland

A new study has found that cardio-respiratory conditioning, also known as aerobic exercise, is beneficial and safe for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Patients with the autoimmune disease typically suffer from swollen, painful and stiff joints and can be reluctant to exercise for fear of making their symptoms worse.

However, many studies have shown that the reverse is true and the latest research from the University of Grenoble Medical School in France, published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research, supports this.

Scientists analysed 14 published studies involving 510 patients and 530 people in control groups, all of which had looked at the impact of aerobic exercise on rheumatoid arthritis.

Examples of aerobic exercise include walking, aerobic dance and water-based exercise.

Participants had typically had the disease for up to 16 years and were aged between 44 and 68 years.

Lead researcher Dr Athan Baillet concluded that patients with stable rheumatoid arthritis appeared to benefit from regular aerobic exercise.

He revealed: "Cardio-respiratory conditioning appears safe and its effects, while small, help to reduce joint pain and improve function.

"While past studies have indicated that rheumatoid arthritis patients are quite physically inactive, our study shows aerobic exercise to be a safe and beneficial intervention for this group."

An earlier study funded by Arthritis Research UK and published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research showed that people with rheumatoid arthritis who took part in supervised resistance training sessions twice weekly for 24 weeks showed huge improvements in terms of strength, muscle mass and volume.