Influence of community-based therapeutic physical exercise in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Keywords:
Rheumatoid Arthritis, community therapeutic exercise, functional capacityAbstract
This study evaluated the effect of a community-based physical therapy intervention in five patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The intervention consisted of structured therapeutic exercise sessions, conducted three times a week for 12 weeks, focusing on joint mobility, muscle strengthening, and aerobic endurance, in a community setting that promoted participation and self-management of health. Four variables were assessed: perceived pain using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), range of motion (ROM), functional disability using the HAQ-DI index, and physical capacity using the six-minute walk test (6MWT). Descriptive analyses showed a progressive reduction in pain, a sustained increase in ROM, a decrease in functional disability, and an increase in the distance covered in the 6MWT across the three measurement periods. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test, used for inferential statistics due to the sample size and the ordinal nature of some variables, confirmed that all changes were statistically significant (p<0.05) between weeks zero, six, and 12.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Juan Miguel Rodríguez Gámez, Yadira González Barak, Darvin Manuel Ramírez Guerra, Yusleidy Marlie Gordo Gómez
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