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 .
The Effects of Walking or Walking-with-Poles Training on Tissue Oxygenation in Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease
This r and omized trial proposed to determine if there were differences in calf muscle StO2 parameters in patients before and after 12 weeks of a traditional walking or walking-with-poles exercise program .  Data were collected on 85 patients who were r and omized to a traditional walking program ( n = 40 ) or walking-with-poles program ( n = 45 ) of exercise training .  Patients walked for 3 times weekly for 12 weeks . Seventy-one patients completed both the baseline and the 12-week follow-up progressive treadmill tests ( n = 36 traditional walking and n = 35 walking-with-poles ) . Using the near-infrared spectroscopy measures , StO2 was measured prior to , during , and after exercise . At baseline , calf muscle oxygenation decreased from 56 ± 17 % prior to the treadmill test to 16 ± 18 % at peak exercise . The time elapsed prior to reaching nadir StO2 values increased more in the traditional walking group when compared to the walking-with-poles group . Likewise , absolute walking time increased more in the traditional walking group than in the walking-with-poles  group . Tissue oxygenation decline during treadmill testing was less for patients assigned to a 12-week traditional walking program when compared to those assigned to a 12-week walking-with-poles program . In conclusion , the 12-week traditional walking program was superior to walking-with-poles in improving tissue deoxygenation in patients with PAD
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 .