Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test in Rheumatoid Arthritis

September 14, 2021 updated by: Sebahat Yaprak Cetin,PT, Pamukkale University

The Validity and Reliability of Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test in Individuals With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Evaluation of upper extremity functionalities, strength and endurance of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis is important in terms of establishing treatment program and determining treatment results. In the literature, Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test (UULEX) has been found to be a valid and reliable method for endurance of unsupported upper extremity in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and is frequently used to evaluate endurance in these patients. However, there is no study on the validity and reliability of UULEX in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.The aim of this study was to determine whether the Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test (UULEX) is a valid and reliable method to evaluate the upper extremity endurance in individual with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To study; a minimum of 70 individual with RA under the age of 65 who are diagnosed with RA and have no other disease affecting the upper extremity performance will be included in the rheumatology outpatient clinic.The patients with upper extremity pain that will affect the performance of the upper extremity will be excluded from the study.

The tests will be done after the demographic data of the individuals are taken. Tests will be applied to individuals before application. After each test, individuals will rest for 5 minutes to reduce the effect of fatigue. The tests will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete. For test-retest reliability, UULEX will be reapplied after one week. For compliance validity of the UULEX, Disability Assessment Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire (DASH), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), 30 sec Push up-Pull test and 6 minute pegboard and ring test will be applied.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test (UULEX):Individual sit on the chair in a way that touches the wall with the lines of the UULEX. The tables of the UULEX contain 8 horizontal levels. Each level is 84 cm wide and 8 cm high. The distance between the level centers is 15 cm. The line below corresponds to the knee level of the participant. The individual moves the plastic bar, which has a weight of 0.2 kg, from the hips by holding the arms at the shoulder width and moves it to the different levels of the lines of the UULEX in front of it. Each movement starts at the hip joint and ends at the hip joint. After making the first level for two minutes, the upper levels are made in two minute. The beginning and end point of each level is the hip joint. The bar is removed until 30 movements per minute accompanied by a metronome (level up). When individuals reach their maximum height, the bar weighing 0.2 kg is replaced with a 0.5 kg weighted bar. This weight will continue to raise to the maximum height. The weight is then increased by 0.5 kg per minute to 2 kg. Individual is referred to the test to continue until symptom limitation.

Statistical Analyses:The data will be given as mean ± standard deviation (X ± SD). The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) will be used to evaluate the reliability of the UULEX. For concurrent validity, the relationship of the 30 sec Push up-Pull Test, DASH, HAQ and the 6-peg board ring test will be evaluated with Pearson correlation analysis. In our study, 85% power was obtained in the design made with 5% type 1 error and at least 70 patients. p value will be taken as 0.05.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

70

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Kinikli
      • Denizli, Kinikli, Turkey, 20160
        • Pamukkale University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 65 years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Exclusion Criteria:

  • People who are over 65 years of age, who have carpal tunnel syndrome and adherent capsule, who have undergone surgery for upper extremity, who are pregnant or can not cooperated will not be included in the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Unsupported Upper Limb Exercise Test
Time Frame: two week
Endurance test
two week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
6 minute pegboard and ring test
Time Frame: one week
endurance test
one week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (ACTUAL)

December 6, 2018

Primary Completion (ACTUAL)

April 15, 2019

Study Completion (ACTUAL)

April 27, 2019

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 26, 2018

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 26, 2018

First Posted (ACTUAL)

September 27, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ACTUAL)

September 16, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 14, 2021

Last Verified

September 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Data of individuals will be given in the spss program

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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