Bone Abstracts

Objective: Bone and muscle deficits are observed in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD). High-impact exercise (HIE), such as jumping based exercise, can provide hypertrophic and osteogenic stimulus, however to date there have been no studies of HIE in CD. This study aimed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of participating in HIE in adolescents and adults with CD.

Methods: Two anonymous questionnaires surveyed adolescents and adults, respectively, with CD. These questionnaires assessed patients’ exercise habits and how this relates to disease symptoms and status; acceptability of participating in HIE; perceived difficulty of participation in HIE based on a short video demonstration; and intentions towards participating in future research studies of HIE in CD.

Results: Forty-eight (22 adolescents [68% male], 26 adults [50% male]) CD patients with median age 19 years (13 to 40) completed this survey. Overall disease status was rated as good, and general wellbeing was primarily ‘very well’ (52%), or ‘slightly below average’ (38%). Fifty-six percent said CD makes exercising difficult, mainly due to fatigue (78%) or joint paint (56%). Positive benefits of exercise included improved mood (77%), feelings of strength and fitness (56%) and increased energy levels (31%). Exercise exacerbated feelings of fatigue and joint pain in 44% and 31%, respectively. Exercise did not exacerbate any CD symptoms in 38% of patients. The majority were positive towards exercise, with 65% stating they could exercise ≥3 times per week. Forty-four percent were not concerned about their bone health, with 46% and 10% slightly and very concerned, respectively. Despite this, 98% believed the opportunity to improve bone health was worth participating in HIE three times per week. Attitudes towards participating in future HIE research studies were positive, with 83% respondents stating they would be interested in taking part. Perceived difficulty of HIE was low, and was positively associated with disease control (r=0.35; P=0.02), and general wellbeing (r=0.66; P<0.001).

Conclusion: Despite limited concern for bone health, attitudes towards exploring HIE as adjunctive therapy in CD patients were positive, warranting the development of future research studies to establish the safety and efficacy of HIE.

Disclosure: Richard K Russell has received speaker’s fees, travel support, or has performed consultancy work with: Nestlé, AbbVie, Takeda, Napp, Mead Johnson, Nutricia and Janssen. Dr Daniel R Gaya has received travel grants and speaker honoraria from Vifor, Ferring, Pfizer, Abbvie, Takeda & Janssen.