Benefit of Adapted Physical Activity for Patients Suffering From Ankylosing Spondylitis

The current management of Spondylarthritis Ankylosant (SA), according to the recommendations of the HAS (High Authority of Health), must be a multidisciplinary global approach coordinated by the rheumatologist combining a pharmacological aspect (NSAID, analgesics, biotherapy ...) and not pharmacological (physical treatments, educational approaches, social measures ...). The therapeutic aim of this management is to achieve a low level of activity of the disease and a decrease of the repercussion of this one in the daily life of the patient.

The standard physical treatment currently provided is physiotherapy. This can be prescribed throughout the disease by the rheumatologist, adapted to the stage of AS and the clinical condition of the patient. The medical teams note in their daily practice that there may be a lack of attendance of patients at prescribed physiotherapy sessions. This has been confirmed in research on certain chronic rheumatic diseases, including AS, for which patients became less adherent to physical treatments and thus lost the expected benefits, particularly in terms of the functional impact of AS in the patient's daily life. (BASFI). Various studies have also shown that combining several physical activities (including aerobic and muscle building) or / and performing them in groups at a regular frequency (three times a week) could significantly improve several AS parameters, including BASFI.

From these different findings, we hypothesized that a multidisciplinary treatment combining a "cardio training" with muscle strengthening, supervised by qualified sports coaches, for a year, could reduce the impact of SA in the daily life of patients balanced by a biotherapy, compared to standard physiotherapy. This original care is part of the Adapted Physical Activity (APA), whose application decree came into force on March 1, 2017 and allows doctors to prescribe a physical therapy tailored to the needs of the patient. At present, the APA remains at the expense of the patients in ALD and in some cases, it can be supported, partially or totally, by the complementary health. APA could therefore be an alternative and / or complementary to physiotherapy as a physical therapy in the management of AS, in addition to pharmacological treatments.