Physiotherapy and Sports in Children with Rheumatic Diseases: Shake Your Bones

Painful inflammations of the musculoskeletal system (e. g. joints, muscles, tendons, vessels) commonly accompanying juvenile rheumatic diseases impact the daily mobility of patients. Common consequences are immobility and physical and sporting inactivity. Therefore, patients rarely reach the national recommendations for movement and movement promotion. Through different approaches, however, less active or physically inactive patients can be encouraged towards more activity. Physical therapy provides young rheumatism patients with an opportunity for physical activity in a safe and well supervised way. Besides recovering and improving a physiological range of motion in the joints, the main goals of physiotherapy are to preserve independence and quality of life. This requires encouraging activity, initiating physiological movement patterns, correcting joint axes and promoting body perception during movements. Purposeful assistance can be provided by medical knowledge and the understanding of the demands of sports. Through continuous and detailed supervision in therapy and slow increases in intensity and amount of physical therapy, fears and worries regarding the return to or start of physical activity can be reduced. The current health condition and inflammation activity are decisive in choosing the appropriate type of therapy intervention. Today, sport is an element of physical therapy and can reduce discomforts, improve physical deficits and convey joy of moving. Regarding everyday and leisure activities, an individual sports recommendation based on the current state of health, functional and motor skill levels as well as the patients' own interests can facilitate a more active lifestyle. Another possibility for supervised movement promotion is physical education at school. Individualised recommendations for sports activities improve the inclusion of patients. Additionally, a training program adapted to the state of disease containing precise instructions helps individuals to reach their sports goals. In the future, digital-based professional monitoring will improve the recommendations for physical activity at home and counteract the shortage of counselling centres for patients with paediatric rheumatism.