Cycling or walking? Comparing the Six-minute walk with the cycle ergometer test in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract

Physiotherapy, including exercise, is an important part of the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Walk tests are often used to evaluate oxygen uptake as an exercise effect, but have not yet been evaluated for use in patients with RA. The aim was to investigate the correlation between a submaximal cycle ergometer test (cycle test) and the Six-minute walk (walk test), and whether demographic factors and disability correlate with the test outcome. Forty-three patients with RA performed the cycle test and the walk test. Muscle function, joint mobility and joint count of lower extremities were examined with the Timed-stands test, the Escola Paulista de Medicina Range of Motion scale and the counting of joint tenderness and swelling. General pain and exertion were rated on VAS and Borg Scales, respectively, and activity limitation assessed with the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index. The correlation between the cycle test and the walk test was r_p=0.45. Age, body mass index and joint count explained 38% of the variance in the cycle test, while age, muscle function and joint mobility explained 56% of the variance in the walk test. Our findings provide some guidance to the choice of test for an individual patient with RA depending on the types of his/her impairments.

• Arthritis
• exercise test
• impairment
• multiple regression
• oxygen uptake