High-intensity exercise beats low-intensity exercise for strength and fitness in rheumatoid arthritis

People with rheumatoid arthritis often worry that moving too much will hurt their joints. This review looked at eleven clinical trials to see if high-intensity exercise helps more than low-intensity exercise. The answer is yes, but only for specific goals. High-intensity exercise was significantly better at building knee muscle strength and improving aerobic capacity. Low-intensity exercise did not show these same benefits. Both types of exercise had no significant difference in overall physical function or disease activity. This means the main benefit comes from pushing a bit harder during workouts. No adverse events related to the interventions were reported in any of the included studies. Patients did not stop taking their exercise due to safety issues. The quality of evidence ranged from very low to high according to the GRADE approach. More clinical trials are needed to confirm these findings. Until then, patients should talk to their doctors before starting a new high-intensity routine.