Welcome Back Rheumatology Fans,
Exercise (which I like) and Rheumatology (which I also like) make excellent bedfellows but are often misunderstood and misapplied. I listened to a really great podcast on the topic and encourage you to as well.
Thank you to The British Society For Rheumatology for publishing.
A few takeaways for you below for you to apply in practice, lots more information and specifics for manageing Rheumatological Diseases on my online course, click below to enroll!
1. Exercise in Rheumatology is most effective when it’s personalised, contextualised, and initiated early.
A recurring theme throughout the conversation is that “exercise” as a general recommendation is too blunt to be meaningful. Patients often hear the phrase “you should do more exercise” without any guidance about what type, when, how often, or how it fits their symptoms or values. As MSK clinicians, this is where our practice becomes pivotal. Patients take exercise advice most seriously when it comes from a trusted professional — and rheumatology health-care providers consistently rank highly as motivators.
The clinical message for physiotherapists is that exercise advice is not a single event but a dialogue. Starting early matters: patients newly diagnosed with inflammatory disease often wait months for physiotherapy input, yet those same months are when they have the most to gain from movement-based reassurance. Even a brief “2-minute conversation” at the end of a medical consult — offering a starting point, normalising safe activity, suggesting step-count increases or simple balance work — can materially shift behaviour.
The nuance comes from tailoring. The needs of an 85-year-old trying to maintain independence differ profoundly from a 20-year-old gym-goer. The role of the physio here is functional problem-solving: what matters to the patient? What are they already doing? How can behaviour be shaped using the smallest effective change? And crucially, how can we frame physical activity not as an intimidating prescription but as a spectrum — from daily activities to structured exercise — where all movement confers benefit?
2. All major exercise modalities can help rheumatic disease
One of the clearest messages from the podcast is that we do not yet have a single “optimal” exercise type for any rheumatic disease. Aerobic training, strengthening work, flexibility, balance, aquatic exercise, yoga, tai chi — across the major rheumatic conditions, they all show benefit for pain, fatigue, function, sleep, and mood. The data are too heterogeneous to crown a winner, and forcing patients into a pre-chosen modality risks disengagement.
For physiotherapists, this reinforces the importance of pragmatic exercise design. Loading principles still matter: tendons respond best to progressive load, bones respond to impact, and cardiovascular systems respond to sustained intensity. But instead of privileging one type of exercise, we should think of the four pillars — aerobic, strength, flexibility, balance/core — as tools we combine based on deficits, goals, and tolerance.
The clinical takeaway is that our role is less about choosing the “right” modality and more about identifying the entry point that the patient can and will engage with. Exercise adherence depends more on enjoyment, identity, symptom confidence, and perceived safety than on the physiological superiority of any single training type. As research grows — including forthcoming EULAR guidelines — we may gain sharper distinctions between exercise formats. But right now, for the patient in front of us, the most effective exercise is the one they are willing and able to perform consistently.
3. Sports & Exercise Medicine complements, not replaces, rheumatology
The podcast also offers a insight into when referrals to Sport & Exercise Medicine (SEM) can add real value. Three domains stand out:
a) MSK pain that doesn’t map cleanly onto inflammatory activity
Patients whose rheumatic disease is well-controlled but remain symptomatic often sit in a diagnostic grey zone: biomechanical overload, postural contributors, muscle imbalance, central sensitisation, enthesopathy, coexisting tendon pathology. SEM clinicians can provide extended MSK assessments, diagnostic ultrasound, functional testing, and targeted loading programmes that help physiotherapists refine management.
b) Primary tendon pathology
Tendons form a significant proportion of SEM workloads. Differentiating tendinopathy from inflammatory enthesopathy is clinically challenging yet critical, particularly around the Achilles, patellar, gluteal, and rotator cuff complexes. SEM assessment can clarify pathology, assist with load-modulation planning, and consider adjunct therapies (e.g., shockwave, injections) when rehabilitation alone is insufficient. This collaboration aligns seamlessly with physio-led progressive loading principles.
c) Interventional options
For suitable cases, SEM can offer ultrasound-guided interventions including corticosteroid, high-volume injections, nerve blocks, PRP, or shockwave — typically when conservative management has reached its ceiling. For physios working with rheumatology conditions, understanding these options improves referral quality and helps set patient expectations.
The broader takeaway is that SEM and rheumatology are highly complementary disciplines that thrive when working in tandem with physiotherapy. The physio is central to longitudinal rehabilitation, behaviour change, and functional recovery; SEM can provide diagnostic clarity and intervention options; rheumatology manages systemic disease. When these three align, patients with complex MSK pain — particularly those with mixed mechanical and inflammatory presentations — tend to do significantly better.
Further Resources
