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 .
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty results in improved physical function but not balance in patients with intermittent claudication.
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify whether revascularization by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty ( PTA ) for patients with intermittent claudication improved measures of functional performance including balance . METHODS A prospect i ve observational study was performed at a single tertiary vascular center . Patients with symptomatic intermittent claudication ( Rutherford grade s 1 - 3 ) were recruited to the study . Participants were assessed at baseline ( pre-PTA ) and then 3 , 6 , and 12 months post-PTA for markers of ( 1 ) lower limb ischemia ( treadmill walking distances and ankle-brachial pressure index ) , ( 2 ) physical function ( 6-minute walk , Timed Up and Go , and chair st and time ) , ( 3 ) balance impairment using computerized dynamic posturography with the Sensory Organization Test , and ( 4 ) quality of life ( VascuQoL and Short Form Health Survey [ SF-36 ] ) . RESULTS Forty-three participants underwent PTA .  Over 12 months , a significant improvement was demonstrated in initial ( P = .04 ) and maximum treadmill walking distance ( P = .019 ) . Physical functional ability improved across all outcome measures ( P < .02 ) , and some domains of both generic ( P < .03 ) and disease-specific quality of life ( P < .01 ) . No significant improvement in balance was demonstrated by the Sensory Organization Test ( P = .24 ) . CONCLUSIONS Balance impairment is common in claudicants and does not improve with revascularization . Further research regarding effective treatment of balance impairment is required in this specific group 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 .