Effect of cervical stabilization exercises on cervical position error in patients with axial spondyloarthritis: arandomized controlled pilot study.

Abstract

To investigate the effect of cervical stabilization exercises on cervical position error in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Thirty-nine patients with axSpA were randomly allocated to two groups as exercise group (n = 20, 11males) and control group (n = 19, 12males). The exercise group performed aprogressive home-based cervical stabilization exercise program, while the control group did not receive any exercise intervention. To control exercise adherence and progression, text messages and video instructions were delivered via afreeware and cross-platform messaging service on aweekly basis. All patients were evaluated regarding physical characteristics, disease activity (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index), functional status (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index), and spinal mobility (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index). Cervical position error was evaluated in flexion, extension, rotation, and lateral flexion directions. All evaluations were performed at baseline and after 6weeks. Baseline physical and disease-related characteristics were similar between the groups (p > 0.05). After 6weeks, significant improvements were observed in cervical position error in all directions in the exercise group (p < 0.05), whereas no improvements were detected in the control group (p > 0.05). A6-week home-based cervical stabilization exercise program seems to be beneficial for improving impaired cervical proprioception in patients with axSpA.