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 .
Corridor-based functional performance measures correlate better with physical activity during daily life than treadmill measures in persons with peripheral arterial disease.
OBJECTIVE To compare associations of physical activity during daily life with treadmill walking performance and corridor-based functional performance measures in persons with lower extremity peripheral arterial disease ( PAD ) . STUDY DESIGN Cross-sectional . SUBJECTS One hundred fifty-six men and women with PAD who completed baseline measurements and were r and omized into the study to improve leg circulation ( SILC ) exercise clinical trial . MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Participants completed a  Gardner-Skinner treadmill protocol . Corridor-based functional performance measures were the 6-minute walk , walking velocity over four meters at usual and fastest pace , and the short physical performance battery ( SPPB ) ( 0 - 12 scale , 12 = best ) .  Physical activity during daily life was measured continuously over 7 days with a Caltrac ( Muscle Dynamics Fitness Network , Inc , Torrence , Calif ) accelerometer . RESULTS Adjusting for age , gender , and race , higher levels of physical activity during daily life were associated with greater distance achieved in the 6-minute walk ( P trend = .001 ) , faster fast-paced four-meter walking velocity ( P trend < .001 ) , faster usual-paced four-meter walking speed ( P trend = .027 ) and a higher SPPB ( P trend = .005 ) . The association of physical activity level with maximum treadmill walking distance did not reach statistical significance ( P trend = .083 ) . There were no associations of physical activity with treadmill distance to onset of leg symptoms ( P trend = .795 ) . CONCLUSION Functional performance measures are more strongly associated with physical activity levels during daily life than treadmill walking measures
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 .