Table 5.

Overview of ongoing and upcoming projects concerning exercise therapy in SSc

First author, country [reference]	Study design	Subjects	Intervention	Outcomes
Hand exercises
Kwakkenbos, multicentre [48, 49]	RCT	586 SSc patients with at least mild hand function limitations (Cochin hand function scale ≥3)	E: online hand-exercise intervention, 3 months C: usual care	Cochin hand function scale
Orofacial exercises
Sydow, Belgium, [46, 47]	OD	SSc patients with maximal oral aperture <40 mm	E1: exercises with jaw motion device E2: mouth-stretching exercises In both groups, patients had to exercise for 10 min, three times/day for 3 months	Mouth opening
Aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises
Ferrari, Italy [50]	Single-blind RCT, parallel assignment	33 SSc patients	E: home-based exercise programme consisting of aerobic exercise on a stationary bicycle, muscle-endurance training of upper limb and stretching exercises for finger joint motion. C: encouragement to perform generic aerobic physical activity	6 min walking test, maximum oxygen consumption, handgrip strength, one repetition maximum of biceps strength, muscular strength of lower limbs, hand mobility in scleroderma test

C: control group; E: experimental group; OD: observational design; RCT: randomized controlled trial.