Monday 27 June 2022 11:39 PM Is arthritis making your life a misery? Try a workout... or a chat! trends now
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Exercise and talking therapy could help thousands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis combat crippling fatigue, a study suggests.
Sufferers from other inflammatory diseases, such as lupus and axial spondylitis, could also benefit from the treatments, which should be part of routine care, experts say.
Around 800,000 people in the UK have these conditions and four in five of them live with fatigue every day.
This affects their ability to concentrate, go to work or live independently.
Researchers from the universities of Aberdeen and Glasgow examined how to cut fatigue among these patients.
Researchers found that those who had talking therapy or exercise therapy for arthritis significantly reduced fatigue levels against those receiving usual care
They compared three types of care for 368 people with various inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Participants were either given telephone-delivered physical activity programmes, cognitive behavioural therapy or they received usual care.
Those in the exercise group had five 45-minute, one-to-one sessions over 30 weeks while those who had talking