Aerobic Exercise Program Followed by Cold Water Immersion: Effects on Arthritis Patients Arterial Stiffness

The purpose of this study is to analyze the long-term effects of a physical exercise program on the cardiovascular system of people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Indeed, it is recognized that RA patients have cardiovascular problems and that regular physical exercise (exercise training) may be beneficial for the disease complications, incluse the cardiovascular risk. Unfortunately, these patients do not exercise enough for fear of joint pain or for fear of deteriorating their general physical condition. It is known that intermittent exercises, ie combining low and high intensity work phases, are particularly effective in the cardiovascular field. As it is possible that the high intensity phases be more difficult to sustain than the low intensity phases (joint pain and degradation of the inflammatory status), the investigators propose to study the effects of cold water immersion in the legs after performing this exercise, because the cold being recognized as limiting the pain and improving the inflammatory status.