EFFICACY OF A REHABILITATION PROGRAM USING POSTURAL THERAPY AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PATIENTS WITH ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS

Ankylosing spondylitis as chronic inflammatory disease characterised by its evolutive potentiality towards spinal and lower limbs static disorders with severe functional deficiency. The rehabilitation methodology, using postural therapy – part and parcel of kinetotherapy – added to the modern pharmacological therapy, participate to the treatment of this affection’s complications, decrease the price of the medical care during the hospitalization, increase the quality of life for these patients. The aim of this study is to further explore the efficiency of physical-kinetic rehabilitation, especially postural therapy, by using objective and measurable criteria: scales and assessment scores for clinical and functional data: pain, physical dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction; disabilities: ADL, moving capacity, absenteism, working capacity; drugs use during hospitalization; quality of life indexes. The results of this study show a higher efficiency for the rehabilitation process that includes an optimized postural therapy methodology to the patients with ankylosing spondylitis in increasing quality of life.