The influence of a long term exercise program on lower limb movement variability and walking performance in patients with peripheral arterial disease

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a 12 month exercise program on lower limb movement variability in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Participants (n = 21) with an appropriate history of PAD and intermittent claudication (IC) volunteered for this study and were randomly allocated to either a control group (CPAD–IC) (n = 11), which received normal medical therapy and a treatment group (TPAD–IC) (n = 10), which received normal medical therapy treatment and a 12 month supervised exercise program. All participants underwent 2D joint angular kinematic analysis during normal walking to assess lower limb movement variability and walking speed. Between-group differences were analyzed via mixed measures ANOVA. The 12 month supervised exercise program made no significant impact on the lower limb movement variability or walking speed of the TPAD–IC group as determined by either intralimb joint coordination or single joint analysis techniques. Long term supervised exercise programs do not appear to influence the lower limb movement variability of PAD–IC patients.