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 .
Is percutaneous transluminal angioplasty better than exercise for claudication? Preliminary results from a prospective randomised trial.
Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty ( PTA ) is a commonly performed procedure for the treatment of  intermittent claudication  despite the lack of controlled studies . The aim of this study was to compare PTA with supervised exercise therapy for patients with arterial occlusive disease judged suitable for PTA at angiography . Patients were assessed before treatment commenced and at three monthly intervals afterwards . Assessment included measurement of resting ankle brachial pressure indices ( ABPI ) , and claudicating and maximum walking distances on a treadmill up a 10 degrees incline .  Twenty patients were r and omised to receive PTA and 16 exercise .  The groups were similar in age , sex , smoking habits and arteriographic pattern of disease . In the PTA group two patients had angioplasties that were technically unsuccessful and two other patients subsequently required surgery . One patient in the exercise group subsequently had a PTA . After PTA , mean ABPI were significantly improved at 3 , 6 and 9 months ( P less than 0.01 ) without a corresponding significant increase in mean maximum walking distances . However in the exercise group despite no increase in mean ABPI , mean maximum walking distances increased progressively , with significant increases at 6 , 9 and 12 months ( P less than 0.01 )
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 .