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 .
Extending the range of treadmill testing for patients with intermittent claudication.
PURPOSE There is a need to evaluate patients with peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) with a limited or extended walking distance . We aim ed to enable an estimation of walking distance as measured on a frequently used " st and ard " grade d ( 3.2 km·h(-1 ) , 2 % increase per 2 min ) protocol for walking distances measured on protocol s with a lower or higher workload . METHODS Patients with PAD and an absolute claudication distance ( ACD ) of < 500 or between 1000 and 1600 m as measured with the " st and ard " protocol were included . Four grade d study treadmill protocol s , two with lower and two with higher workload than the " st and ard " protocol , were developed . Two study protocol s ( low or high ) and the " st and ard " protocol were repeated in r and om order . Quality was determined with the intraclass correlation coefficient and the coefficient of variation . Orthogonal regression analysis was used to predict walking distances on the st and ard protocol on the basis of the study protocol s. RESULTS Forty-three patients with an ACD < 500 m and 23 patients with an ACD between 1000 and 1600 m were included . Because feasibility from the protocol s with 2.0 km·h(-1 ) and 2 % increase every 2 min and 4.4 km·h(-1 ) and 2 % increase every minute was highest , they were calibrated against the " st and ard " protocol , and reliability was comparable with the " st and ard " protocol . The coefficient of variation between the prediction of walking distance on the " st and ard " protocol on the basis of the new protocol s and the measured distances were in the same range ( 22%-25 % ) as the variation measured performing the same treadmill test twice . CONCLUSIONS An accurate estimate of walking distance as measured on a " st and ard " treadmill protocol can be derived from a protocol with a lower or higher workload
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 .