High-intensity training can alleviate pain for people with inflammatory arthritis – latest research
People experiencing high levels of pain due to arthritis could find relief by taking part in high-intensity training, says a small study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Experts analysed data from 18 women aged 20 years to 49 years to see if high-intensity interval training could improve important risk factors of cardiovascular disease in rheumatic patients, and if these people could tolerate exercise intensities above today’s recommendation. Seven of the women had rheumatoid arthritis and 11 had adult-juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
The volunteers warmed up for 10 minutes at 70% of their maximum pulse, and then did four repetitions of high intensity exercise (at 85% to 95% of their maximum pulse) in four-minute intervals. Three-minute breaks were taken between each interval, again at 70% of maximum pulse, with the total workout session lasting about 35 minutes.
They found that 10 weeks of this intense training on a spinning bike twice a week had no negative effects. Levels of inflammation generally decreased and maximum oxygen intake increased, thus reducing pain and the risk of cardiovascular disease. The volunteers enjoyed increase in muscle mass and a small reduction in body mass index, fat levels and waist measurement.
The study is too small to conclude that a change in approach to training should be recommended to people with arthritis but the findings do suggest that more research in this area may be beneficial.
“The women who participated in the study found this to be a good, effective method of training, and are mostly very motivated to continue because of the progress they’ve seen,” says Anja Bye, one of the researchers involved.
Click here to read the original research.
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Image credit: Phil Campbell
