Reporting of exercise interventions in spondyloarthritis research: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

Abstract

Objective: Assess the reporting of interventions in exercise trials for patients with spondyloarthritis, evaluate whether reporting has improved and explore whether reporting practices influence the effect on disease activity.

Design: Systematic review.

Data sources: MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Library and PEDro. Completeness of reporting was assessed with the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT). Temporal trends in percentage completeness were assessed via linear regression on publication year. Meta-regression assessed whether completeness of CERT moderated the effect of exercise interventions on disease activity, measured as standardised mean difference (SMD).

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of cardiorespiratory, resistance, flexibility and/or neuromotor exercise interventions in adults with spondyloarthritis, published between January 2003 and November 2025.

Results: Overall completeness of exercise reporting was moderate, with a mean CERT score of 9.9 (SD 3.4) (52%) across 42 RCTs. Exercise reporting showed modest improvement over the past two decades, 1.09 percentage points per year (95% CI 0.27 to 1.90). Pooled data indicated a moderate effect of exercise interventions on disease activity (SMD=-0.46, 95% CI -0.62 to -0.30), with no evidence that completeness of reporting moderated the effect size (β=-0.19, 95% CI -1.11 to 0.73).

Conclusion: About half the relevant information is provided for exercise interventions in spondyloarthritis, with only very slight improvements in recent decades. Key aspects such as exercise specifics, adherence and adverse events were often missing. Clarity of reporting did not appear to be related to how well exercise worked, but this relationship was highly variable.

Prospero registration number: CRD42023438199.