An interventional study of Standard Breathing Exercise Program and Posture-Focused Exercise Program in Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), sponsored by Mustafa Akça. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-16.
Sponsored by Mustafa Akça · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This study will evaluate the effects of posture-focused exercises on spinal alignment in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups. The control group will receive a standard breathing exercise program. The intervention group will receive posture-focused exercises in addition to the standard breathing exercise program.
The exercise program will last 8 weeks. Assessments will be performed at baseline and at the end of week 8. Spinal alignment will be evaluated using rasterstereographic analysis with the DIERS formetric 4D system. Clinical and functional outcomes will include disease activity, spinal mobility, functional status, quality of life, walking capacity, perceived exertion, and gait parameters.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the spine and sacroiliac joints. Over time, it may lead to reduced spinal mobility, increased thoracic kyphosis, decreased lumbar lordosis, forward trunk inclination, impaired posture, balance problems, gait disturbances, reduced functional capacity, and decreased quality of life.
Exercise is an important component of rehabilitation in ankylosing spondylitis. However, the effects of posture-focused exercise programs on objective spinal alignment parameters have not been sufficiently investigated with standardized non-invasive methods.
This study is designed as a prospective, two-arm, randomized controlled, single-blind clinical trial. A total of 54 patients with ankylosing spondylitis will be included. Participants will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio into two groups. The control group will receive a standard breathing exercise program. The intervention group will receive posture-focused exercises in addition to the standard breathing exercise program.
The intervention period will last 8 weeks. Exercise sessions will be performed once weekly under supervision, and the remaining sessions will be continued as a home exercise program. Posture-focused exercises will include cervicothoracic postural realignment, thoracic mobilization, spinal extensor activation, scapular stabilization, lumbopelvic-core stabilization, and stretching exercises.
Participants will be evaluated at baseline and at the end of week 8. The primary outcome measures will be rasterstereographic spinal alignment parameters, including thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle, trunk forward inclination angle, sagittal vertical alignment, and pelvic tilt. Secondary outcome measures will include BASDAI, BASMI, BASFI, ASQoL, the 6-Minute Walk Test, Borg Scale, and gait analysis parameters.
The aim of this study is to determine whether adding posture-focused exercises to a standard breathing exercise program provides additional benefit on spinal alignment and related clinical and functional outcomes in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
507 studies on the registry are indexed under Spondylitis, Ankylosing; 91 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 54 is below the median of 84 across 281 interventional studies indexed under Spondylitis, Ankylosing.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Participants in this group will receive a standard breathing exercise program for 8 weeks. The program will include diaphragmatic breathing, controlled inspiration, and thoracic expansion exercises. Exercises will be performed once weekly under supervision and continued as a home exercise program on the remaining days.
Behavioral: Standard Breathing Exercise Program
Participants in this group will receive posture-focused exercises in addition to the standard breathing exercise program for 8 weeks. The posture-focused exercise program will include cervicothoracic postural realignment, thoracic mobilization, spinal extensor activation, scapular stabilization, lumbopelvic-core stabilization, and stretching exercises.
Behavioral: Standard Breathing Exercise Program · Behavioral: Posture-Focused Exercise Program
The standard breathing exercise program includes diaphragmatic breathing, controlled inspiration, and thoracic expansion exercises. The program will be performed for 8 weeks, once weekly under supervision and on the remaining days as a home exercise program.
The posture-focused exercise program includes cervicothoracic postural realignment, thoracic mobilization, spinal extensor activation, scapular stabilization, lumbopelvic-core stabilization, and stretching exercises. The program will be performed in addition to the standard breathing exercise program for 8 weeks.
Change in Thoracic Kyphosis Angle
Thoracic kyphosis angle will be measured in degrees using the DIERS formetric 4D rasterstereography system. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Lumbar Lordosis Angle
Lumbar lordosis angle will be measured in degrees using the DIERS formetric 4D rasterstereography system. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Trunk Forward Inclination Angle
Trunk forward inclination angle will be measured in degrees using the DIERS formetric 4D rasterstereography system. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Sagittal Vertical Alignment
Sagittal vertical alignment will be assessed using the DIERS formetric 4D rasterstereography system. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Pelvic Tilt
Pelvic tilt will be measured in degrees using the DIERS formetric 4D rasterstereography system. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index Score
Disease activity will be assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher disease activity. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index Score
Spinal mobility will be assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating worse spinal mobility. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index Score
Functional status will be assessed using the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index. The total score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating worse functional status. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life Score
Quality of life will be assessed using the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life questionnaire. The total score ranges from 0 to 18, with higher scores indicating worse quality of life. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in 6-Minute Walk Test Distance
Functional exercise capacity will be assessed using the 6-Minute Walk Test. The total walking distance will be recorded in meters. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Borg Scale Score
Perceived exertion will be assessed using the Borg Scale. The score ranges from 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating higher perceived exertion. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Walking Speed
Walking speed will be assessed during gait analysis and recorded in meters per second. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Cadence
Cadence will be assessed during gait analysis and recorded as steps per minute. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Step Length
Step length will be assessed during gait analysis and recorded in centimeters. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Stride Length
Stride length will be assessed during gait analysis and recorded in centimeters. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Change in Double Support Time
Double support time will be assessed during gait analysis and recorded as a percentage of the gait cycle. The change from baseline to week 8 will be analyzed.
Time frame: Baseline and week 8
Plan to share: No — Individual participant data will not be shared due to privacy and confidentiality considerations. Study data will be analyzed and reported in aggregate form without identifying individual participants.
No publications or documents are linked to this record.
Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Nov 2027, 12 months later.
Of 64 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Spondylitis, Ankylosing, half reached primary completion within 12 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 20. This study's planned 12 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 66 studies reached it within 12 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 20.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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