A method to increase compliance to exercise regimens in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

A hand exerciser with an electronic counter and a visual display was used to measure compliance objectively, to investigate the effects of visual feedback on compliance, and to assess the impact of exercise on seven mild and five moderate rheumatoid arthritis patients. A multiple time-series design varying the onset of the visual display was utilized. Compliance was assessed weekly over the 7 weeks of the study. Pretest and posttest measures of various indicators of hand functioning were taken by an occupational therapist. Visual display of the number of exercises completed decreased the number of noncompliant patients from six to two, with the maximum degree of noncompliance reduced from 44 to 5%. Thus the use of visual display is effective in producing compliance to exercise regimens. In light of the small sample size, however, no definitive conclusions can be drawn regarding the effects of exercise on hand functioning.