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 .
Peripheral arterial insufficiency, effect of physical training on walking tolerance, calf blood flow, and blood flow resistance.
Twenty-three patients with intermittent claudication were su bmi tted to physical training during 4 - 6 months . Eleven other patients with intermittent claudication served as a control group and were given placebo tablets during the same period . The aim of the investigation was to study the influence of physical training on the blood flow conditions in the calf . The effect of treatment on walking tolerance , on calf blood flow , blood flow resistance , and systolic blood pressure graident between the systemic circulation and the vascular bed in the calf was studied . Half a year after the end of the treatment period the patients were reexamined . The walking tolerance increased in both groups but more in the trained group . The increase in walking tolerance even in the control group was caused by the fact that the control group began to train to some extent . In neither group the maximal calf blood flow changed significantly compared with the pretreatment values . The maximal blood flow showed an increasing trend in the training group after a period fo 4 months compared with the control goupr ( 2p greater than 0.10 ) . The blood flow resistance at maximal dilatation did not change significantly as compared with the initial values in any of the groups , but there was a significant difference ( 2p greater than 0.05 ) between the two groups with a decrease in the training group after 4 months . The changes in maximal calf blood flow and the changes in blood flow resistance at maximal dilatation were not related to the changes in walking tolerance . Half a year after the treatment period the walking tolerance had not decreased and there was no difference between the two groups . The maximal calf blood flow , the blood flow resistance , and the systolic pressure gradient were unchanged in comparison with the pretreatment values and there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups . The small changes in blood flow conditions observed after physical training can not be the only factor explaining the well known improvement in walking tolerance . However , training may cause a redistribution of the blood flow in the working muscle
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 .