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 .
Early outcomes from a randomized, controlled trial of supervised exercise, angioplasty, and combined therapy in intermittent claudication.
BACKGROUND To compare angioplasty ( PTA ) , supervised exercise ( SEP ) and PTA + SEP in the treatment of intermittent claudication ( IC ) due to femoropopliteal disease . METHODS Over a 6-year period , 178 patients ( 108 men ; median age , 70 years ) with femoropopliteal lesions suitable for angioplasty  were r and omized to PTA , SEP , or PTA + SEP . Patients were assessed prior to and at 1 and 3 months post treatment . ISCVS outcome criteria ( ankle pressures , treadmill walking distances ) and quality of life ( QoL ) question naires ( SF-36 and VascuQoL ) were analyzed . RESULTS All groups were well matched at baseline . Twenty-one patients withdrew . Results are as follows : Intragroup analysis : All groups demonstrated significant clinical and QoL improvements ( Friedman test , p < 0.05 ) . SEP ( 60 patients , 8 withdrew)-62.7 % of patients ( n = 32 ) improved following treatment [ 20 mild , 9 moderate , 3 marked ] , 27.4 % ( n = 14 ) demonstrated no improvement , and 9.8 % ( n = 5 ) deteriorated . PTA  ( 60 patients , 3 withdrew)-66.6 % patients ( n = 38 ) improved following treatment [ 19 mild , 10 moderate , 9 marked ] , 22.8 % ( n = 13 ) demonstrated no improvement , and 10.5 % ( n = 6 ) deteriorated . PTA + SEP ( 58 patients , 10 withdrew)-81.6 % of patients ( n = 40 ) improved following treatment [ 10 mild , 17 moderate , 3 marked ] , 14.2 % ( n = 7 ) demonstrated no improvement , and 4.0 % ( n = 2 ) deteriorated . Intergroup analysis : PTA + SEP produce a much greater improvement in clinical outcome measures than PTA or SEP alone , but there was no significant QoL advantage ( Kruskal-Wallis test , p > 0.05 ) . CONCLUSION SEP should be the primary treatment for the patients with claudication and PTA should be supplemented by an SEP
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 .