Tverrfaglig rehabiliteringsopphold for pasienter med Bekhterevs sykdom ved
Revmatismesykehuset Lillehammer
Sammanfattning
This article describes a three-week inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation program for
patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), developed at Lillehammer Hospital of Rheumatic
Diseases. The program is based on modern rehabilitation principles, with the patient playing
an active role in goal setting and planning the rehabilitation process.
AS is a chronic rheumatic disease resulting in pain and stiffening of the spine and hip. National
and international recommendations for management of patients with AS are established,
concluding that physiotherapy and exercises together with adequate medication are the cornerstones
of the treatment. Living with a rheumatic disease implies a significant burden in
several aspects of life, and despite the recent development of effective pharmacological treatment,
many patients need help to limit the negative consequences of a life-long disease.
A multidisciplinary, in-patient rehabilitation program, based on the patient’s individual goals,
is therefore developed at Lillehammer.
Through an individually adapted process, the rehabilitation program aims at establishing a
good basis for exercise and active coping strategies. A patient-specific instrument is used
for establishing the patients’ prioritised areas of activity problems, and a core-set of disease
specific outcome measures are used for assessing and monitoring physical function and
disease activity.
The process of development and description of the rehabilitation program has resulted in
improvements of the different elements of the multidisciplinary program and, further, that
the multidisciplinary team experiences an enhanced understanding of the total rehabilitation
process.