Walking Football for Axial Spondyloarthritis (KICK START AS)

May 5, 2026 updated by: Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Walking Football and Axial Spondyloarthritis: Assessing Feasibility, Safety and Patient Reported Outcomes

Axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) is a long-term inflammatory condition affecting the spine. Patients with this condition can have pain and stiffness in their back and neck. NICE Guidelines recommend that these patients should follow a structured exercise programme with additional hydrotherapy, to maintain mobility and flexibility, so as to improve quality of life.

While there is limited hydrotherapy provided in Portsmouth to approximately 40 axSpA patients via the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS), there is no bespoke structured exercise programme for over 400 axSpA patients under the care of the Rheumatology Department, other than exercise advice which patients are asked to follow in their own time.

We propose twice-weekly Walking Football sessions for our axSpA patients as a structured exercise programme. Walking Football is an inclusive sport, with proven health benefits to other patient groups. Unlike traditional football, walking football is a non-contact sport; players are not allowed to run or jump, and the ball must stay below head height. In this way, people with some mobility impairment or mild frailty can still play. In addition to getting regular physical exercise, twice-weekly sessions would provide training in a sporting skill, as well as give opportunities to connect with other players socially, providing mental health benefits.

We have a number of axSpA patients who are keen to try Walking Football as part of their axSpA management, but there is a lack of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of this. We thus plan to undertake a 12-week pragmatic feasibility study to gather this evidence.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

NICE guidelines recommend structured exercise programme as the non-pharmacological management of Axial Spondyloarthritis (axSpA), with hydrotherapy to be considered as adjunctive therapy. While limited hydrotherapy is provided at our hospital via the National Axial Spondyloarthritis Society (NASS) for some of our patients, there is a gap in the provision of structured exercise programme for axSpA patients in our community. We propose to offer Walking Football to fill this gap.

Walking Football is an inclusive sport, accommodating those with mild mobility impairments, as no jumping or running is allowed, and the ball in play is not permitted to exceed players' head-height. It could be an ideal form of exercise for axSpA patients, whose treatment goal is to maintain mobility in order to maximise quality of life. While the hydrotherapy currently offered helps to maintain joint flexibility and range of movement, Walking Football provides weight-bearing exercise which is key to maintaining bone health. Furthermore, the proposed Walking Football sessions will be led by exercise and football coaches, building on recent findings (van Wissen et al, 2024) that longstanding supervised exercise therapy was more effective in axSpA patients than usual care.

We have a group of axSpA patients who are interested in using Walking Football as part of their axSpA management, but there is a lack of literature on the safety and effectiveness of this. We thus plan to design and undertake a pragmatic feasibility study.

OBJECTIVES:

  • To assess safety of Walking Football in players with axSpA
  • To assess objective as well as patient-reported outcomes of a Walking Football intervention, including disease burden measures
  • To assess feasibility of providing Walking Football in our community
  • To maximise Patient and Public Involvement (PPI), gather information to inform a larger pilot/RCT

PLANNED OUTPUTS:

  • Quantitative results showing effects of Walking Football on axSpA patients
  • Qualitative results showing effects of Walking Football on patients' quality of life, and patient feedback on the intervention
  • Academic publication, presentation at professional conference

IMPLEMENTATION:

Pompey in the Community (PitC), the charitable arm of Portsmouth Football Club, has agreed to run a 12-week programme of Walking Football at a local stadium, for up to 20 of our axSpA patients. This will be twice-weekly hour-long sessions, to be led by experienced exercise and football coaches. We intend to run clinical assessments (including MASES and BASMI) as well as self-reported disease burden surveys (including ASQoL, AS-WIS, HADS, BASFI, BASDAI, BAS-G, VAS, WASTEd scores) of each participant prior to, at the mid-point and after the end of this intervention.

Using our team's connection with axSpA patients via NASS and our Physiotherapy service, we will involve patients and relevant members of the community in PPI activities, to facilitate the qualitative elements of our research, including patient interviews and focus groups.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

12

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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

  • United Kingdom
      • Portsmouth, United Kingdom
        • Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Has a formal diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis, as stated in existing clinical documents
  • Able to walk independently without walking aids (note: there will be no upper age limit)
  • Good understanding of spoken and written English

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Under 18 years of age
  • Significant disability affecting ability to play walking football
  • Inability to commit to at least 18 of the 24 planned sessions of walking football
  • Already a regular participant in local walking football sessions

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

  • Primary Purpose: Basic Science
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Feasibility study
Twice-weekly hourlong walking football sessions
Other: Walking Football
Walking football is a non-contact 5- to 7-a-side game, lower-impact on joints than standard football as no running or jumping is permitted.
Other Names:
  • Weight-bearing aerobic exercise

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Clinical measurement and standardised disease burden questionnaires
Time Frame: 12 weeks

Clinical assessments including biometric data, MASES and BASMI scores, 6-minute walk test, sit-to-stand test, and injury surveillance reporting. Participant self-reported disease outcome and quality of life questionnaires including ASQoL, AS-WIS, HADS, BASFI, BASDAI, BAS-G, VAS, WASTEd and loneliness scale.

All of the above clinical assessments, tests, as well as qualitative results will combine to determine whether Walking Football is/isn't a safe and beneficial form of exercise for axSpA patients.
12 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

Collaborators

Portsmouth in the Community
NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Wessex

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)

October 20, 2025

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 15, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 16, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 13, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

February 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PHU-2025/33
  • 359266 (Other Identifier: Integrated Research Application System (IRAS), UK)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

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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