NCT03833609

Yoga and Aerobic Dance for Pain Management in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Evaluation of Yoga and Aerobic Dance for Pain Management in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

• Status: Unknown
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 25 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario · Academic / Other
• Sex: Female
• Age: 13 Years – 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The primary objectives of the proposed pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be to examine: (1) the feasibility of a full RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of two popular types of physical activity (PA), a yoga training program and an aerobic dance training program, in female adolescents (13 to 18 years old) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) compared to a wait list control group; and (2) the acceptability of these interventions. A three-arm prospective randomized open-label study with a parallel group design will be used. A total of 25 in a ratio of 2:2:1 female adolescents with JIA who have pain will be randomized to one of the three groups: 1) online yoga training program (Group A) (n=10), 2) online aerobic dance training program (Group B) (n=10) and 3) waiting list control group (Group C) (n=5). Participants in groups A and B will complete three individual 1-hour sessions per week using online exercise videos, as well as one 1-hour virtual group session per week using a video-conferencing platform (GoToMeeting) for 12 weeks. These participants will also take part in weekly e-consultations with a research coordinator and discussions on Facebook with other participants. Participants from all groups will be given access to an electronic educational pamphlet on PA for arthritis developed by The Arthritis Society to review via an online platform. Feasibility, acceptability and usability of Facebook and GoToMeeting will be assessed at the end of the program. Pain intensity (Primary outcome), participation in general physical activity, morning stiffness, functional status, fatigue, self-efficacy and patient global assessment will be assessed using self-administered electronic surveys at baseline, weekly until the end of the 12 weeks program.

Detailed description

Objectives: The primary objectives of the proposed pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be to examine: (1) the feasibility of a full RCT to evaluate the effectiveness of two popular types of physical activity (PA), a yoga training program and an aerobic dance training program, in female adolescents (13 to 18 years old) with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) compared to a wait list control group; and (2) the acceptability of these interventions. Methods: A three-arm prospective randomized open-label study with a parallel group design will be used. A total of 25 female adolescents with JIA who have pain will be randomized in a ratio of 2:2:1 to one of the three groups: 1) online yoga training program (Group A) (n=10), 2) online aerobic dance training program (Group B) (n=10) and 3) wait list control group (Group C) (n=5). Participants in groups A and B will complete three individual 1-hour sessions per week using online exercise videos, as well as one 1-hour virtual group session per week using a video-conferencing platform (GoToMeeting) for 12 weeks. These participants will also take part in weekly e-consultations with a research coordinator and discussions on Facebook with other participants. Participants from all groups will be given access to an electronic educational pamphlet on PA for arthritis developed by The Arthritis Society to review via an online platform. Feasibility (recruitment rates, self-reported adherence to the interventions, dropout rates, and percentage of missing data), acceptability and usability of Facebook and GoToMeeting will be assessed at the end of the program. Pain intensity (Primary outcome), participation in general physical activity, morning stiffness, functional status, fatigue, self-efficacy and patient global assessment will be assessed using self-administered electronic surveys at baseline, weekly until the end of the 12 weeks program. Conclusion: To our knowledge this is the first study in paediatric patients to evaluate the effectiveness of yoga and aerobic dance as pain management interventions for female adolescents with JIA. The use of online tools such as Facebook and GoToMeeting to disseminate these two PA interventions may facilitate access to alternative methods of pain management in this population. The study design incorporates randomization and allocation concealment to ensure internal validity. To avoid intergroup contamination, the Facebook group page security settings will be set to "closed", thus only allowing invited participants to access it. Study limitations include the lack of participant blinding due to the characteristics of this physical intervention pilot randomized controlled trial and a potential bias of recruiting more severe hospital-based participants. Reporting of the study follows the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for interventional trials (SPIRIT) statement. This study can lead to a full-scale RCT.

Conditions

• Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis
• Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Online yoga training (Group A)	The yoga training program is a structured low-intensity Vishwas-Raj (18). This yoga program consists of stretching, strengthening, meditation and deep breathing, and has been shown to be effective among adults with RA. Participants will be asked to complete three individual 1-hour sessions per week for 12 consecutive weeks by watching a previously filmed session led by a qualified yoga instructor and posted on Facebook. They will also take part in a 1-hour virtual group session per week using a video-conferencing platform. Participants will also participate in weekly e-consultations with a research coordinator and discussions on Facebook with other participants.
BEHAVIORAL	Online aerobic dance training (Group B)	The aerobic dance program is a low to moderate intensity level program and will also use a video. The video, adapted for youth with JIA, was developed with feedback from a JIA patient with experience in aerobic dance and a physiotherapist with experience in pediatric rheumatology. The aerobic dance program will have the same characteristics in terms of frequency, total number of sessions and total duration as the yoga program (i.e., three 1-hour individual sessions and one 1-hour virtual group session per week for 12 weeks). Participants will also participate in weekly e-consultations with a research coordinator and discussions on Facebook with other participants.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-09-01
• Primary completion: 2021-12-01
• Completion: 2022-04-01
• First posted: 2019-02-07
• Last updated: 2019-02-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada