Can a home workout program help early arthritis patients?
NCT ID NCT06841562
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This pilot study is testing whether a remotely-delivered exercise program is practical and acceptable for people recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (within 6 months). Fifteen participants will receive intensive aerobic and resistance training via video calls. The main goal is to see if people can stick with the program, not yet to measure health benefits.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- remotely-delivered exercise training program
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that a home-based exercise program is a practical way to help manage symptoms in early rheumatoid arthritis.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small pilot study with only 15 people, so results may not apply broadly. It focuses on feasibility, not on proving the exercise works for arthritis.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 15 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Mar 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Persons with early RA - defined as duration of diagnosis equal to or less than 6 months, and not currently taking biologic DMARD therapy. Participants may be on one or a combination of the following conventional synthetic DMARDs: hydroxychloroquine, methotrexate, sulfasalazine, leflunomide, azathioprine * Seropositive (positive rheumatoid factor or anti-citrullinated protein antibody) or erosions typical of RA on radiographs * History of fulfilling 2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for RA * Active RA, not in clinical disease remission (Clinical Disease Activity Index for RA (CDAI) \> 2.8) * Stable doses (for ≥ 1 month) of all RA and cardiovascular risk-related medications (including statins, metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors, GLP1RA) except for glucocorticoids Exclusion Criteria: * Pregnant or intending to become pregnant during the intervention period * Current treatment with exogenous insulin * Other inflammatory arthropathy or myopathy, Paget's disease, pigmented villonodular synovitis, joint infection, ochronosis, neuropathic arthropathy, osteochondromatosis, acromegaly, hemochromatosis, or Wilson's disease * Current malignancy other than minimally invasive carcinomas routinely treated topically or with minor surgical treatment * Absolute contraindications to exercise testing: ongoing unstable angina; uncontrolled cardiac arrhythmia with hemodynamic compromise; active endocarditis; symptomatic severe aortic stenosis; decompensated heart failure; acute pulmonary embolism, pulmonary infarction, or deep vein thrombosis; acute myocarditis or pericarditis; acute aortic dissection; physical disability that precludes safe and adequate testing * Relative contraindications to exercise testing: known obstructive left main coronary artery stenosis; moderate to severe aortic stenosis with uncertain relation to symptoms; tachyarrhythmias with uncontrolled ventricular rates; acquired advanced or complete heart block; hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy with severe resting gradient; recent stroke or transient ischemic attack; mental impairment with limited ability to cooperate; uncorrected medical conditions, such as hypertension (see below), significant anemia, important electrolyte imbalance, and hyperthyroidism * Acute myocardial infarction (MI) within six months * Resting hypertension with systolic or diastolic blood pressures ≥180/110 mm Hg * Lack of internet access * Planned, intentional weight loss during study
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Duke University
RECRUITINGDurham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
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