Can 4 Weeks of Exercise Program Change Quadriceps Architecture in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Quadriceps femoris (QF) atrophy is seen in rheumatoid arthritis and knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Exercise therapy is mile stone in knee OA patients also it can help thicken QF muscle of RA patients. We primarily aimed to demonstrate the influence of 4 weeks of knee isometric home-based training on QF muscle parts thickness and pennation angle measurements of RA patients with ultrasonography (USG). This study included 12 patients with RA, 12 patients with knee OA as positive control group and 13 volunteers as healthy control group. All participants were given 4 weeks of quadriceps-hamstring isometric home-based training. At baseline and at the end of the program, WOMAC and Lequesne algofunctional index scores of knee OA patients and DAS28-CRP scores of RA patients were recorded. Dominant knee thickness and pennation angle measurements of QF muscle parts were evaluated by ultrasonography.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Knee Osteoarthritis; Exercise; Ultrasonography; Quadriceps Muscle Atrophy
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Quadriceps femoris isometric home-based exercise

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Ankara, Turkey
    • Gazi University Faculty of Medicine

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

The inclusion criteria for all participants were being between 18-65 yy.

The inclusion criteria for RA patients were: confirmed diagnosis of RA according to 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria and lack of any other inflammatory articular diseases.

The inclusion criteria for knee OA patients were: diagnosis according to ACR classification criteria of knee OA with grade 2-3 according to the Kellgren-Lawrence grading system and lack of any other inflammatory articular diseases.

Volunteers who did not have any knee pain, no clinical degenerative or inflammatory signs were included in the healthy control group.

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Exclusion criteria for all participants were: being out of age range, history of knee joint trauma, surgery or knee joint injection in the previous 6 months, presence of any other disease that can affect thigh muscles (radiculopathy, myopathy, hip problems). Patients with secondary knee OA were not included.

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Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Non-Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Rheumatoid arthritis patients	Procedure: Quadriceps femoris isometric home-based exercise; All 3 groups of participants were given 4-week (5 days/week) quadriceps-hamstring isometric home-based exercise training for their both knees. Exercises were performed (with maximal effort for 10 seconds) at a rate of 20 repetitions per day. Training was performed at outpatient clinic for 30 minutes.
Experimental: Knee Osteoarthritis patients	Procedure: Quadriceps femoris isometric home-based exercise; All 3 groups of participants were given 4-week (5 days/week) quadriceps-hamstring isometric home-based exercise training for their both knees. Exercises were performed (with maximal effort for 10 seconds) at a rate of 20 repetitions per day. Training was performed at outpatient clinic for 30 minutes.
Experimental: Healthy patients	Procedure: Quadriceps femoris isometric home-based exercise; All 3 groups of participants were given 4-week (5 days/week) quadriceps-hamstring isometric home-based exercise training for their both knees. Exercises were performed (with maximal effort for 10 seconds) at a rate of 20 repetitions per day. Training was performed at outpatient clinic for 30 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of quadriceps femoris parts thickness measures	Dominant knee vastus lateralis, medialis, intermedius and rectus femoris thicknesses of 3 groups were calculated at baseline and at the end of intervention.	At baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention
Change of quadriceps femoris parts pennation angles	Pennation angles of vastus lateralis, medialis and intermedius were calculated at baseline and at the end of exercise program.	At baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change of The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) score of knee OA	The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) scores of knee OA patients were calculated at baseline and at the end of exercise program. The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) is divided into 3 subscales: Pain, stiffness, physical function. The scores for each subscale are summed up, with a possible score range of 0-20 for Pain, 0-8 for Stiffness, and 0-68 for Physical Function. A sum of scores of 3 subscales were multipled with 100 and divided by 96 and resulted in WOMAC score of the patients. Higher scores on the WOMAC indicate worse pain, stiffness, and functional limitations.	At baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention
Change of Disease activity score 28-C reactive protein (DAS28-CRP)	Disease activity score 28-C reactive protein (DAS28-CRP) scores of RA patients were calculated at baseline and at the end of program. A score lower than 2.6 means remission, score between 2.6 and 3.2 means low disease activity, score between 3.2 and 5.1 means moderate disease activity and score higher than 5.1 means high disease activity.	At baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention
Change of Lequesne scores of knee OA patients	Lequesne algofunctional index scores of knee OA patients were calculated at baseline and at the end of the intervention. The Lequesne OA index is scored as the sum of questions ranging from 0 to 24, higher scores meaning worse outcome.	At baseline and after 4 weeks of intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Ovgu Bickici

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 12, 2019
• Study Completion (Actual): February 20, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 31, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): April 6, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 6, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 5, 2021
• Last Verified: April 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Immune System Diseases; Autoimmune Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Joint Diseases; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Rheumatic Diseases; Connective Tissue Diseases; Neuromuscular Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Anatomical; Atrophy; Osteoarthritis; Arthritis; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Osteoarthritis, Knee; Muscular Atrophy
• Other Study ID Numbers: 26022019

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No