#4-40E. Moving Beyond the Gym: The 2025 EULAR Recommendations on Physical Activity (ARD, 2026)

Are you struggling to guide your arthritis patients on the optimal dose of physical activity? This episode explores the 2025 update of the EULAR recommendations for physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis. The paper revises the 2018 guidelines by aligning with the 2020 WHO guidelines, presenting four overarching principles and eleven recommendations that emphasize not only promoting physical activity but also specifically reducing sedentary behavior. The most crucial clinical takeaway is the introduction of "exercise snacks"—short, frequent bursts of movement—and the strong endorsement of digital technologies, like wearable trackers, to facilitate personalized behavioral change. However, when critically appraising this study, one must note the uneven distribution of evidence across different rheumatic conditions; for instance, there is a scarcity of data on psoriatic arthritis and limited studies exclusively targeting sedentary behavior reduction. For clinicians, this paper is highly relevant as it shifts the paradigm from merely advising exercise to providing highly specific, tailored prescriptions that incorporate technology and address prolonged sitting, thereby offering practical, ready-to-use strategies to improve daily rheumatology care.

Citation: Rausch Osthoff, Anne-Kathrin, et al. EULAR recommendations for physical activity in people with inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis: 2025 update. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2026. DOI: 10.1016/j.ard.2026.03.006

Disclaimer: This audio summary is based on personal interpretation and does not guarantee the exact content of the original paper. Please refer to the original article for details.