• Ece Nur Şen, Fatih Sarıtaş, and Özgül Öztürk.
• Institute of Health Sciences, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Acıbadem Mehmet Ali Aydınlar University, Istanbul, Türkiye.
• Ir J Med Sci. 2024 Nov 26.

BackgroundExercise is a key component of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) management. As telerehabilitation has become a viable solution for delivering remote care, the effectiveness of core stability exercises via this method remains under-researched.AimTo compare the effects of telerehabilitation-based synchronous versus asynchronous core stability exercises on core muscle endurance, spinal mobility, disease activity, physical function, and quality of life in patients with axSpA.MethodsForty-four patients with axSpA were randomly assigned to a synchronous exercise group (n = 22, 14 females) performing real-time exercises supervised by a physiotherapist, or an asynchronous group (n = 22, 10 females) following pre-recorded exercise videos. Core endurance tests, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional (BASFI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI), Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Scale (ASQoL), and functional mobility tests (timed-up-and-go and chair stand tests) were used to assess outcomes. Perceived change was evaluated at post-treatment using the 5-point Global Rating of Change (GRoC) scale.ResultsThe synchronous group demonstrated greater changes in core endurance, BASMI, BASDAI, ASQoL, BASFI, and functional mobility tests (p < 0.05) compared to asynchronous group. Asynchronous group displayed improvement only in core endurance, ASQoL, chair stand test, and some BASMI parameters (p < 0.05). Notably, 100% of participants in the synchronous group reported their condition as improved, compared to 50% in the asynchronous group shown by GRoC.ConclusionSupervised core stability exercises delivered by using a synchronous telerehabilitation program may provide better outcomes compared to unsupervised video-based exercise program.Trial RegistrationThis study is prospectively registered at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06000072).© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

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