ABSTRACTObjectives No app-based nonpharmacological intervention has yet demonstrated to meaningfully improve disease activity, functional status, and disease-specific quality of life in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). We evaluated Axia, a CE-marked smartphone application designed for axSpA, that combines personalised exercise therapy, patient education, and disease management, supported by gamification for long-term adherence. Methods To evaluate its clinical efficacy, a 12-week monocentric randomised controlled interventional trial was conducted involving 200 patients with axSpA with stable pharmacotherapy. Patients were randomised (1:1) to either using Axia (intervention group IG) or standard of care (control group CG). Results A total of 186 participants (mean age 50.61 years, 66% females, 56% with radiographic axSpA, mean Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index BASDAI 5.17, and 58% received biologicals or Janus kinase inhibitors) completed the study (95 in the IG and 91 in the CG). Compared to CG, participants in the IG demonstrated significant improvements in BASDAI (analysis of covariance ANCOVA-estimated group difference: −1.508, P P P P P Conclusions These findings support the potential of Axia as a safe and effective nonpharmacological intervention to further improve the state of care of patients with axSpA in addition to conventional anti-inflammatory pharmacotherapy.
Strunz et al. (2026) studied this question.