THE EFFECT OF EXERCISES ON WALKING DISTANCE OF PATIENTS WITH INTERMITTENT CLAUDICATION - A STUDY OF RANDOMIZED CLINICAL-TRIALS

Background and Purpose. There is no consensus about the indication for exercises for patients with intermittent claudication of the lower ex tremity and the characteristics of an exercise program to improve walk ing distance. The effect of walking is assessed by a systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Methods. Literature databases were acc essed using the relevant key words. The references of identified artic les were screened for additional studies. A checklist was developed to screen the studies with respect to the variables of interest. A metho dological assessment form was developed to assess the methodological q uality of the studies (maximum possible score: 100). Results. Eighty-t wo articles were identified, of which 21 studies were considered relev ant for inclusion in the review. Following the analysis of the article s, 11 studies were for various reasons eliminated, leaving 10 studies for the systematic review. The score for methodological quality of the studies ranged from 47 to 75 ((X) over bar=62.5, SD=8.5). Percentage of improvement in walking distance or time ranged from 28% to 210% ((X ) over bar=105%, SD=55.8%). Conclusion and Discussion. All studies sho wed that walking exercises improved walking distance in patients with intermittent claudication. Further research is needed to determine the optimal exercise program, the effect of adherence to the treatment pr otocol, and the duration of the effects following a formal exercise pr ogram.