Data showed improvements secondary to exercise in ' physical function ' and ' general health ' .
The other domains - ' role physical ' , ' bodily pain ' , ' vitality ' , ' social ' , ' role emotional ' , and ' mental health ' - did not show improvement at six months .
Although results showed significant heterogeneity between trials , population s and outcomes were comparable overall , with findings relevant to the claudicant population .
High- quality evidence shows that exercise programmes provided important benefit compared with placebo or usual care in improving both pain-free and maximum walking distance in people with leg pain from IC who were considered to be fit for exercise intervention .
Exercise did not improve ABI , and we found no evidence of an effect of exercise on amputation or mortality .
Exercise may improve quality of life when compared with placebo or usual care .
BACKGROUND Exercise programmes are a relatively inexpensive , low-risk option compared with other , more invasive therapies for treatment of leg pain on walking ( intermittent claudication ( IC ) ) .
This is the fourth up date of a review first published in 1998 .
OBJECTIVES Our goal was to determine whether an exercise programme was effective in alleviating symptoms and increasing walking treadmill distances and walking times in people with intermittent claudication .
Secondary objectives were to determine whether exercise was effective in preventing deterioration of underlying disease , reducing cardiovascular events , and improving quality of life .
Treadmill versus shuttle walk tests of walking ability in intermittent claudication.
PURPOSE To compare treadmill and shuttle walk tests for assessing functional capacity in patients with intermittent claudication , with respect to test-retest reliability , cardiovascular responses , and patient preferences . METHODS Patients with stable intermittent claudication ( N = 55 , ages 52 - 85 yr , median age 68 yr ) were recruited from the Sheffield Vascular Institute at the Northern General Hospital , Sheffield , UK . Each patient performed an incremental shuttle walk test , a constant-pace shuttle walk test , and a st and ardized treadmill test ( 3.2 km x h(-1 ) , 12 % gradient ) , each on three occasions . The incremental shuttle walk began at 3 km x h(-1 ) and increased by 0.5 km x h(-1 ) every minute , whereas the constant-pace shuttle walk was performed at the fixed pace of 4 km x h(-1 ) . Claudication distance ( CD ) , maximum walking distance ( MWD ) , heart rate ( HR ) , and blood pressure were assessed in each testing session . The patients also completed a test preference question naire . RESULTS CD and MWD for both shuttle walks were greater than the corresponding walking distances achieved in the treadmill test ( P < 0.001 ) . Average coefficients of variation for repeated incremental shuttle walk , constant-pace shuttle walk , and treadmill tests were 15.9 % , 21.1 % , and 18.7 % , respectively , for MWD , corresponding to average intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.87 , 0.82 , and 0.87 . Treadmill walking evoked greater increases in HR and blood pressure ( P < 0.001 ) , and fewer patients expressed a preference for it ( 24 vs 43 % for shuttle walking ) . CONCLUSION These findings indicated that shuttle walk testing exhibits similar test-retest reliability as treadmill testing , but that it evoked a lower level of cardiovascular stress and is preferred to treadmill testing by a large proportion of patients
Data showed improvements secondary to exercise in ' physical function ' and ' general health ' .
The other domains - ' role physical ' , ' bodily pain ' , ' vitality ' , ' social ' , ' role emotional ' , and ' mental health ' - did not show improvement at six months .
Although results showed significant heterogeneity between trials , population s and outcomes were comparable overall , with findings relevant to the claudicant population .
High- quality evidence shows that exercise programmes provided important benefit compared with placebo or usual care in improving both pain-free and maximum walking distance in people with leg pain from IC who were considered to be fit for exercise intervention .
Exercise did not improve ABI , and we found no evidence of an effect of exercise on amputation or mortality .
Exercise may improve quality of life when compared with placebo or usual care .
BACKGROUND Exercise programmes are a relatively inexpensive , low-risk option compared with other , more invasive therapies for treatment of leg pain on walking ( intermittent claudication ( IC ) ) .
This is the fourth up date of a review first published in 1998 .
OBJECTIVES Our goal was to determine whether an exercise programme was effective in alleviating symptoms and increasing walking treadmill distances and walking times in people with intermittent claudication .
Secondary objectives were to determine whether exercise was effective in preventing deterioration of underlying disease , reducing cardiovascular events , and improving quality of life .