The effect of resistance training on the rehabilitation of hand in rheumatoid arthritis patients

Objective To investigate the effect of resistance training on the rehabilitation of hand joint in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Selecting 66 cases of the stable phase of rheumatoid arthritis (ra) patients in a rheumatoid immunology outpatient of a general hospital in Beijing during October 2016 to March 2017, 33 patients were randomly divided into control group and 33 patients into intervention group by using random number. Exercise instruction of routine finger operation in control group; The intervention group was guided by trained nurses with finger exercises and resistance training. Two groups of patients were tested before and after 3 months of exercise, and both hands were tested and the patients were recorded with their hands. The patients were evaluated by the Signals of Functional Impairment(SOFI). Results Before exercise, the grip strength, morning stiffness time, SOFI score in the control group were:60.0(43.0,100.5) mmHg(1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), 45.0(30.0,60.0)min,2.0(1.0,3.0),and in the intervention group they were:85.0(49.3,108.7) mmHg,45.0(30.0,60.0) min,2.0(1.0,3.0),the differences between two groups of had no statistical significance (Z=-1.488, -0.609, -0.118, P>0.05). After three months of exercise, the grip strength, morning stiffness time, SOFI score in the control group were:60.0(40.5,102.7) mmHg,30.0(10.0,45.0) min,1.0(1.0,2.0),and in the intervention group they were:89.5(56.0,119.0) mmHg,10.0(5.0,15.0) min,1.0(0.0,1.0),the differences between two groupshad statistical significance (Z=-2.412, -3.668, -2.998, P 0.05), but in the intervention group, the grip strength was significantly higher three months later, and the morning stiffness and SOFI were significantly reduced in the group, and the differences were statistically significant (Z=-4.865, -5.508, -4.711, P<0.05). Conclusions The effect of anti-resistance training on the function of hand joint in rheumatoid arthritis patients is better than that of conventional finger operation, especially in improving the grip strength. Key words: Arthritis, rheumatoid; Hand function; Resistance training