Exercise

LUPUS EUROPE • EXERCISE PROGRAM for LUPUS PATIENTS

In collaboration with trained physical therapists Lupus Europe has developed an exercise program in five levels which has been endorsed by leading European Lupologists.

INTRODUCTION

Studies show, that the only thing, that is clinically proven to help lupus fatigue is “moderate” exercise. We as lupus patients ourselves do however realise, how difficult it can be to start exercising, when you feel fatigue! This is why we developed this program from our own experiences.

Exercise doesn´t necessarily mean, that you have to run a marathon or go to the gym. With this program we want to show, that you can do it no matter where you are and how you are feeling. You should be able to find a level that suits you each day.

The goal is of course to increase in level whenever you can, but you will probably experience, that you have to go down a level at some point. Don´t despair, this is quite normal, and the most important thing is, that you do one exercise a day – not which level it is.

Who knows – you might even feel so energized by doing one program, that you can take on the next level straight away…?

All exercises can be done without training tools and in the individual videos we will guide you through the various options for increased or reduced difficulties. Each program can be done in 15-20 minutes, if you do two or three rounds.

LEVEL 1

• LYING DOWN

• 6 Exercises
• 10-15 Minutes

This level is for when you feel unable to get out of bed for one reason or another or feel more comfortable lying down.

This should be your starting point, if you are not used to exercising.

The exercises can be done while lying in bed or on a mat on the floor.

You can increase the difficulty of some of the exercises by using waterbottles or dumbbells.

Download Exercise PDF

Download

LEVEL 2

• SEATED

• 6 Exercises
• 10-15 Minutes

This level is for when you are able to sit on a chair or are in a wheel chair but cannot stand up for longer periods of time.

For this program you will need a kitchen chair or similar.

You can increase the difficulty of some of the exercises by using an elastic band, water bottles or dumbbells.

Download Exercise PDF

Download

LEVEL 3

• STANDING

7 Exercises
• 10-15 Minutes

This level is for when you are able to stand up, but not walk for longer periods of time.

For this program you will need a kitchen chair or similar, a floor mat and a wall to lean against.

Download Exercise PDF

Download

LEVEL 4

• STANDING
• WALKING


• 7 Exercises
• 10-15 Minutes

This level is for when you are able to walk for longer periods of time, but not run or do high impact exercise.

For this program you will need a floor mat and a wall to lean against.

You can increase the difficulty of some of the exercises by using an elastic band, water bottles or dumbbells.

Download Exercise PDF

Download

LEVEL 5

• STANDING
• WALKING
• JUMPING

• 7 Exercises 
• 10-15 Minutes

This level is for when you are able to run a bit,
jump and do high impact exercise.

For this program you will need a floor mat.

You can increase the difficulty of some of the exercises
by using a kettle bell, water bottles or dumbbells.

Download Exercise PDF

Download

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🤩 #EULAR2026 has been a blast!

Now it’s time to look back at some of the key lupus-related insights, data and messages from this year’s Congress.

Join Lupus Europe for our EULAR 2026 recap webinar:

📅 June 15
🕖 19:00 CET
📍 Zoom

✅ Register by sending an email to [secretariat@lupus-europe.org](mailto:secretariat@lupus-europe.org)

Don’t miss it!
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🤩 #EULAR2026 has

🦋 EULAR started yesterday!

This year, #EULAR2026 brings together a huge rheumatology community:

📊 5,705 abstracts submitted from 102 countries, a new EULAR record
📊 187 scientific sessions across 15 tracks
📊 More than 350 distinguished speakers from 43 nations

And Lupus Europe is here!

As promised, some of our PAN members are covering lupus-related sessions to bring key messages back to the lupus community.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 One of yesterday’s highlights was seeing Marina Pietri present our poster on Sex & Lupus co-creation, with Rita Vieira also there representing the Youth Group’s work. The poster shows how young people with lupus worked with a clinician to create a safe, respectful space to talk about sex, intimacy and lupus, topics that are still too often left out of routine care.

A big thank you to Dr Cristiana Sieiro Santos for her support and collaboration in making this work possible.

🎥 If you haven’t watched the webinar yet, visit our YouTube channel and watch it there.

🧠 We also followed a session on fatigue, one of the symptoms people with lupus most often report as difficult to explain, measure and manage. The session looked at when tiredness becomes pathological, how fatigue can be assessed, and why lifestyle advice needs to be realistic and adapted to each person.

💬 Patient-doctor communication was another key topic yesterday. Have you heard about the Lupus Consultation Cards? Inspired by the work of NVLE in collaboration with ERN ReCONNET, they are a simple tool to help people prepare for appointments, organise symptoms and questions, and focus the conversation on what matters most. This is the idea behind our #MakeItCount campaign.

🌍 Dr Daniel Guimarães de Oliveira presented a poster on social determinants of health in lupus care, co-authored with our General Secretary Zoe Karakikla Mitsakou. This work shows how healthcare professionals, Patient Research Partners from Lupus Europe, local patient volunteers and social workers co-designed a practical framework to identify barriers such as financial pressure, health literacy, transport, social support and access to care, and connect them with local solutions.

📱 Digital tools were also part of yesterday’s programme, with discussions on how technology can support self-management, shared decision-making and patient empowerment. For Lupus Europe, this strongly connects with our work on reliable, patient-centred digital information, including #LupusGPT and #EasyLupus.

🔬 We also followed the session “The mitochondria: a new culprit for autoimmune diseases?”. The discussion explored how mitochondrial DNA and RNA may act as danger signals, activating immune pathways such as interferon responses and contributing to inflammation in lupus and other autoimmune diseases.

👏 Kudos to our PAN members and Board members for their great job on this first day of EULAR!

🦋 Stay tuned. Today will be another big day for Lupus Europe at #EULAR2026!

Our Chair, Jeanette Andersen, will speak in the session on non-pharmacological interventions to improve quality of life.

We also have a Meet the EULAR Expert session on “AI as a Partner in Care: Empowering the RMD Community with Information”, focusing on AI tools such as #LupusGPT and #EasyLupus, which will be delivered by Zoe Karakikla Mitsakou.
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☀️ Good morning from beautiful London!

#Eular2026 is here, and so are we‼️

💬 You may already know #lupusgpt. You may have read the paper in The Lancet Rheumatology. You may have tried the tool, shared it with a patient, or recommended it to a colleague.

📊 But there is more. More to do. More lessons learned from two years of building something genuinely patient-led. More to understand about what happens when patients, clinicians, and AI specialists work together from the very first question.

🦋 This week, we will be sharing it all.

#lupusgpt: more than you think. Further than you imagined.
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☀️ Good morning

📅 Tomorrow, the EULAR Congress begins!

🌍 #Eular2026 starts tomorrow, and Lupus Europe will be there!

🦋 We will be representing the patient voice, following the latest research, and sharing key updates with our community throughout the week.

Stay tuned for live updates, session highlights, and much more.

💬 Will you be following the congress? Let us know in the comments!
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📅 Tomorrow, the E