Physical Performance in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Abstract

In 31 female patients, aged between 38 and 63 years, all studied in the remission stage of 2nd and 3rd degree rheumatoid arthritis (RA), physical performance capacity and some pertinent physiological factors were determined. In all the functional tests, such as walking on level ground or on stairs, the RA patients performed worse (up to 60%) than a group of normals of the same age-range. This was due both to a low cardiovascular fitness (25% reduction) and a low muscle strength (between 33 and 52% lower), compared with normals.