Demographic and baseline evaluation in the study patients, expressed as medians (25th–75th percentile). Fatigue and level of morning stiffness are BASDAI items.
| Characteristic | Rehabilitation Group, (n = 20) | Educational-Behavioral Group, (n = 20) | Control Group, (n = 22) | p |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, yrs | 47.5 (37.2–61.5) | 44.0 (38.2–52.5) | 47.5 (40.7–52.5) | 0.265 |
| Work (>sedentary/>orthostatism), n (%) | 6 (30.0)/14 (70.0) | 6 (30.0)/14 (70.0) | 5 (22.7)/17 (77.3) | 0.869 |
| Male/female, n (%) | 15 (75.0) / 5 (25.0) | 16 (80.0) / 4 (20.0) | 18 (81.8)/ 4 (18.2) | 0.856 |
| Duration of complaints, yrs | 18.0 (11.0–28.0) | 14.5 (10.0–21.5) | 20.5 (10.5–28) | 0.278 |
| Time since diagnosis, yrs | 9.5 (4.0–14.0) | 6.5 (4.0–10.0) | 9.0 (3.2–13.7) | 0.424 |
| Infliximab/etanercept/adalimubab | 9/5/6 | 9/4/7 | 10/7/5 | 0.753 |
| Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, mm/h | 9.0 (7.0–17.5) | 11.0 (5.0–18.0) | 9.0 (3.2–13.7) | 0.910 |
| C-reactive protein, mg/l | 0.9 (0.3–3.1) | 0.5 (0.1–2.5) | 1.7 (0.3–6.4) | 0.820 |
| VAS cervical (0–100) | 29.0 (12.0–50.2) | 22.5 (12.0–48.0) | 24.0 (6.7–48.5) | 0.587 |
| VAS lumbar (0–100) | 29.0 (10.0–60.5) | 19.5 (10–50) | 22.0 (6.0–41.5) | 0.817 |
| BASMI (0–10)** | 5.2 (4.1–6.5) | 4.6 (5.0–7.0) | 4.9 (3.2–6.2) | 0.831 |
| BASMI (0–10) | 4.4 (3.4–6.1) | 3.6 (2.6–5.1) | 3.8 (2.8–5.4) | 0.092 |
| BASFI (0–10)** | 4.7 (1.9–6.3) | 4.6 (2.5–7.0) | 4.5 (3.0–4.8) | 0.828 |
| BASFI (0–10) | 2.5 (1.8–4.9) | 2.7 (1.2–3.5) | 2.8 (1.2–4.0) | 0.697 |
| BASDAI (0–10)** | 4.7 (3.4–6.4) | 4.4 (2.4–7.4) | 4.6 (2.3–6.4) | 0.879 |
| BASDAI (0–10) | 3.6 (2.2–3.0) | 3.0 (2.0–6.3) | 3.2 (1.7–4.3) | 0.390 |
| Chest expansion, cm | 3.0 (2.0–3.0) | 4.0 (3.0–5.3) | 3.4 (1.8–5.0) | 0.020 |
| Cervical flexion/extension** | 60.0 (56.0–104.0) | 78.0 (58.0–101.0) | 82.0 (70.–93.0) | 0.235 |
| Cervical flexion/extension* | 69.0 (60.5–100.5) | 90.0 (80.0–102.0) | 88.0 (63.0–110.0) | 0.296 |
| Cervical rotation** | 75.0 (54.0–104.5) | 90.0 (85.0–130.5) | 85.0 (53.0–93.0) | 0.335 |
| Cervical rotation* | 86.0 (56.5–103.5) | 95.0 (68.0–128.0) | 90.0 (63.5–109.5) | 0.381 |
| Cervical side flexion** | 27.0 (14.0–42.0) | 41.0 (22.5–47.5) | 50.0 (42.0–58.0) | 0.072 |
| Cervical side flexion* | 37.0 (21.0–47.5) | 46.0 (26.5–63.5) | 53.0 (27.5–72.5) | 0.118 |
| Lumbosacral flexion/extension** | 75.0 (65.0–95.0) | 82.0 (65.0–88.5) | 78.0 (60.0–100.5) | 0.219 |
| Lumbosacral flexion/extension* | 84.0 (72.0–103.5) | 97.0 (79.0–106.5) | 90.0 (72.0–106.0) | 0.340 |
| Thoraco-lumbar rotation** | 47.0 (40.0–68.5) | 47.0 (37.5–55.5) | 55.0 (48.0–78.0) | 0.211 |
| Thoraco-lumbar rotation* | 44.0 (40.0–48.0) | 50.0 (40.0–79.5) | 59.0 (34.5–73.0) | 0.520 |
| Thoraco-lumbar lateral flexion** | 22.0 (15.5–33.5) | 21.0 (13.5–37.0) | 26.0 (19.0–39.0) | 0.749 |
| Thoraco-lumbar lateral flexion* | 27.0 (16.5–31.0) | 27.0 (18.0–49.5) | 32.0 (13.0–47.0) | 0.118 |
| Cervical movements, total** | 171.0 (95.0–203) | 199.0 (154.5–283.5) | 195.0 (178.5–259.0) | 0.247 |
| Cervical movements, total* | 205.0 (147.5–255.0) | 219.0 (200.0–260.0) | 216.0 (166.0–267.5) | 0.192 |
| Thoraco-lumbo-sacral movements, total** | 129.0 (111.0–196.0) | 136.0 (116.0–157.0) | 146.0 (144.5–156.0) | 0.229 |
| Thoraco-lumbo-sacral movements, total* | 144.0 (130.5–173.5) | 193.0 (150–198.0) | 180.0 (129.0–213.0) | 0.356 |
| Fatigue (0–10) | 5.0 (2.2–5.4) | 4.5 (2.0–6.3) | 3.0 (1.2–5.0) | 0.356 |
| Level of morning-stiffness (1–10) | 2.7 (1.3–3.7) | 2.9 (0.8–4.2) | 1.8 (0.6–5.1) | 0.960 |
↵* Spinal active range of motion measured by a pocket goniometer (degrees).
↵** Data relating to the start of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor treatment. BASDAI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index; BASMI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index; BASFI: Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index; VAS: visual analog scale.