Baseline characteristics
| Exercise group n=32 | Control group n=30 | P value | |
| Demographics | |||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 43.34 (8.90) | 48.77 (12.38) | 0.062 |
| Female, n (%) | 31 (96.9) | 27 (90) | 0.346 |
| Marital status n (%) Single/married | 10 (31.3)/19 (59.4) | 6 (20)/20 (66.7) | 0.580 |
| Education n (%) Secondary/university | 30 (93.8)/2 (6.3) | 28 (93.3)/2 (6.7) | 1.000 |
| In employment, n (%) | 25 (78.12) | 19 (63.33) | 0.200 |
| Dominant right hand, n (%) | 32 (100) | 27 (90) | 0.107 |
| Disease-related characteristics | |||
| Disease duration, median (IQR) | 6 (10) | 11 (15) | 0.065 |
| SLEDAI-2K, mean (SD) | 4.25 (3.24) | 4.20 (3.58) | 0.937 |
| LLDAS (%) | 18 (56.3) | 13 (43.3) | 0.446 |
| SLICC mean (SD) | 0.34 (0.60) | 0.63 (0.93) | 0.242 |
| Symptomatic joint count, median (IQR) | 10 (11) | 11 (7) | 0.587 |
| Swollen joint count, mean (SD) | 1.39 (3.05) | 1.43 (2.53) | 0.509 |
| Arthritis n (%) | 5 (15.62) | 6 (20) | 0.652 |
| Fibromyalgia n(%) | 4 (12.5) | 3 (10) | 0.756 |
| VAS score, mean (SD) | 5.81 (1.67) | 6.03 (1.77) | 0.616 |
| Corticosteroid use (%) | 20 (54.1) | 17 (46.0) | 0.640 |
| Prednisolone dosage (mg) mean (SD) | 4.63 (5.55) | 4.97 (5.80) | 0.884 |
| Hydroxycloroquine use (%) | 26 (81.3) | 25 (83.3) | 0.985 |
| Immunosuppressive agents use (%) | 15 (46.9) | 15 (50.0) | 0.806 |
| Biologic agents use (%) | 1 (3.1) | 3 (10) | 0.271 |
| Procedure parameters | |||
| DASH score, mean (SD) | 39.02 (16.10) | 43.08 (16.39) | 0.330 |
| HAQ score, mean (SD) | 0.81 (0.45) | 1.10 (0.55) | 0.029 |
| Grip strength DH mean (SD) | 22.86 (8.77) | 21.42 (9.75) | 0.542 |
| Pinch strength Jaws DH, mean (SD) | 4.27 (2.01) | 3.91 (2.19) | 0.509 |
| Purdue DH, mean (SD) | 13.25 (2.05) | 12.27 (2.36) | 0.084 |
| LupusQoL PH, mean (SD) | 56.44 (22.62) | 51.25 (20.62) | 0.346 |
| LupusQoL fatigue, mean (SD) | 56.63 (23.74) | 49.44 (21.03) | 0.213 |
DASH, Disabilities of Arm, Shoulder and Hand; DH, dominant hand; HAQ, Health Assessment Questionnaire; Jaws, three point pinch; LLDAS, lupus low disease activity state; LupusQoL, Lupus Quality of Life; PH, physical health; SLEDAI-2K, systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index 2000; SLICC, Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale.