Analysis of the effectiveness of the developed system of physical therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis in terms of daily activity, health status and quality of life

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of the article is to analyze the effectiveness of the developed system of physical therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis based on the results of indicators of daily activity, health status and quality of life. Material & Methods. 188 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were examined, including 156 women (83%) and 32 men (17%), with an average age of 44,9±7,6 years. The patients were randomly divided into a control group (n=92) and a study group (n=96). Patients in the main group were trained according to the proposed system of physical therapy, which was developed in accordance with the domains of the ICF, taking into account factors affecting the level of functional impairment, health status and quality of life (categories at the level of activity and participation). In the dynamics, a comparative assessment of functional limitations in the daily activity of the upper extremities was performed using the DASH questionnaire, health status assessment using the Stanford Health Interview, and quality of life using the EuroQol-5D-5L questionnaire. Results. In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, the initial examination revealed impaired performance of daily activities, in particular, activities requiring hand strength according to the DASH questionnaire, low self-assessment of health according to the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire, and significant deterioration in quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) due to the negative impact of existing functional impairments of the upper extremities. After the rehabilitation intervention, patients in both groups showed statistically significant improvement in all studied indicators: facilitation of performing household activities in everyday life, increased self-assessment of health, and improved quality of life compared to baseline data (p < 0.05). However, patients in the main group showed a significantly better result than patients in the control group, which indicates the effectiveness of the proposed rehabilitation measures (p<0.05). Conclusion. Significantly better differences between patients of the main and control groups were found according to the results of the studied indicators, which clearly demonstrates and confirms the effectiveness of the proposed system of physical therapy in contrast to the standard rehabilitation system.