Hand exercises for patients with rheumatoid arthritis: an extended follow-up of the SARAH randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The Stretching And strengthening for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) randomised controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a hand exercise programme and demonstrated it was clinically effective and cost-effective at 12 months. The aim of this extended follow-up was to evaluate the effects of the SARAH programme beyond 12 months.

Methods

Using postal questionnaires, we collected the Michigan Hand Questionnaire hand function (primary outcome), activities of daily living and work subscales, pain troublesomeness, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life. All participants were asked how often they performed hand exercises for their rheumatoid arthritis. Mean difference in hand function scores were analysed by a linear model, adjusted for baseline

SUBMITTER: Williamson E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5775458 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature