Are people with rheumatoid arthritis who undertake activity pacing at risk of being too physically inactive?

Objective: To gain insight into the relationship between activity pacing and physical inactivity.

Design: A cross-sectional study.

Setting: Outpatient clinic of a rheumatology department.

Subjects: Men and women diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Main Measures: Physical activity was assessed using self-reported measures and an accelerometer-based activity monitor. An occupational therapist and specialized nurse analysed the self-reported physical activity data and classified on the basis of consensus the pacing of activities of all patients as 'adequate' or 'not adequate'.

Results: Thirty rheumatoid arthritis patients participated in this study of whom nine were categorized as adequate activity pacers. None of these nine undertook sufficient exercise whereas 6 of the 20 people who did not pace activity appropriately did. Physical activity levels assessed by self-reported measures were significantly higher than when assessed by an accelerometer-based activity monitor.

Conclusions: Activity pacing was associated with lower levels of physical activity. Since patients with rheumatoid arthritis are already at risk for inactivity, further inactivation by activity pacing might potentially be harmful.