Therapy May Not Help Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

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Therapy May Not Help Early Rheumatoid Arthritis

Mon January 5, 2004 10:22 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Occupational therapy has been shown to help

people who have had rheumatoid arthritis for several years or longer, but

the results of a new study suggest that people in the early stages of the

disease do not achieve any functional benefits.

" This study suggests that rheumatology departments should think twice before

providing early secondary preventive intervention to everyone with

rheumatoid arthritis, " Dr. Alison Hammond of Derbyshire Royal Infirmary in

London and colleagues report in the January issue of the journal ls of

the Rheumatic Diseases.

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the tissues that line the

joints, leading to pain, inflammation and deformity. The disease affects

more women than men, and it may attack other organs in the body.

Occupational therapy includes both therapeutic and educational interventions

that are designed to help people adjust to rheumatoid arthritis and improve

or maintain their daily activities. One of the aims of occupational therapy

for rheumatoid arthritis is to help people maintain hand function.

Occupational therapy has been shown to be beneficial in people who have had

rheumatoid arthritis for 8 to 10 years. Whether this type of intervention is

helpful to people with early disease, in which symptoms tend to be less

severe, is uncertain.

Despite this uncertainty, there has been a move toward providing

occupational therapy and education to people with early rheumatoid

arthritis, according to the report.

To test the effectiveness of such a strategy, Hammond's team studied a group

of people who had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis for less than 2.5

years. About 300 people were randomly assigned to receive conventional

treatment with or without occupational therapy.

On average, participants in the occupational therapy group received more

than 7 hours of occupational therapy.

By the end of the 2-year study, people in the occupational therapy group

were more likely to " self-manage " their disease. Examples of self-management

include performing hand exercises and wearing splints or other joint

protection.

Other than self-management, though, researchers did not observe any

significant differences between the groups in terms of health status.

Hammond and her colleagues suggest several explanations, including that

drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis might have " erased " any of the

benefits of occupational therapy early in the disease process.

They also point out that the study might not have been long enough to detect

any differences in the occupational therapy group.

" Research is needed to determine the best choices of occupational therapy

interventions for whom and when in this group of patients with early

disease, " Hammond and her colleagues conclude.

SOURCE: ls of the Rheumatic Diseases, January 2004.