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. 2018 Feb 20;18(1):52.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-018-0727-1.

Gait pattern in patients with peripheral artery disease

Maria Szymczak  1 , Paweł Krupa  2 , Grzegorz Oszkinis  3 , Marian Majchrzycki  4
Affiliations

Gait pattern in patients with peripheral artery disease

Maria Szymczak et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present paper is to assess the gait pattern of patients with Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD). A more specific aim is to compare the gait pattern of PAD patients before and after the appearance of intermittent claudication symptoms.

Methods: The study involved 34 PAD patients with a claudication distance ≥200 m and 20 participants without PAD, who formed the control group. The gait pattern of PAD patients was assessed twice: before the appearance of intermittent claudication symptoms (pain-free conditions) and after the appearance of intermittent claudication symptoms (pain conditions).

Results: Compared to the control group, PAD patients presented a statistically significant decrease in step length both during pain-free conditions (52.6 ± 12.5 vs. 72.8 ± 18.5 cm, p = 0.008) and in pain conditions (53.3 ± 13.3 vs. 72.8 ± 18.5 cm, p = 0.006). As for the remaining spatiotemporal parameters, there were no differences observed between the patient group and the controls. Intermittent claudication symptom induced by the walking test on the treadmill did not bring about any new abnormalities in the gait pattern or intensify the existing abnormalities of the gait.

Conclusions: PAD patients have a tendency to shorten their step length regardless of the presence of intermittent claudication.

Keywords: Gait pattern; Intermittent claudication; Lower limb ischaemia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors’ information

MS is a physiotherapist. Her relevant expertise includes physiotherapy in Peripheral Artery Disease. GO is a vascular surgeon. His relevant expertise includes: vascular biology, pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and aortic aneurysms, vascular biomechanics, hemodynamics, minimal invasive therapies, stent grafting, and stem-cell-based cardiovascular tissue engineering. MM is an osteopath and manual therapy specialist. PK is an expert in gait analysis.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All participants provided a written consent to be included in the research. The consent of Bioethical Commission in Poznań to conduct the research was also obtained (decision no. 733/14 of 4th September 2014).

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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