[Effectiveness of rehabilitation with musculoskeletal diseases]

Multidisciplinary treatment focusing on impairments, activities and participation are an important component within the therapeutic regimen in musculoskeletal conditions. In Germany, for more than 95% of the patients multidisciplinary treatment is provided as inpatient rehabilitation. According to the results of a study from the Netherlands, inpatient rehabilitation is superior to usual care in terms of decreasing disease activity and improving emotional well-being in rheumatoid arthritis. Another randomized, controlled study gives evidence that rehabilitation is more effective as compared to usual care in ankylosing spondylitis. In patients suffering from fibromyalgia, after inpatient rehabilitation, symptoms improve significantly and this is true even one year after discharge. The results of a quality management project financed by the German health insurance and including several thousand patients with musculoskeletal diseases show an improvement in physical and emotional dimensions of health status at discharge and after a six month follow-up. Recent studies comparing inpatient with outpatient rehabilitation in patients with musculoskeletal diseases provide information that both forms are equally effective. Taking into account the high number of inpatient rehabilitation procedures in Germany, more outcomes research is required urgently.