Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Sep 18:2019:2470801.
doi: 10.1155/2019/2470801. eCollection 2019.

Intermittent Claudication in Physiotherapists' Practice

Anna Spannbauer  1   2 , Maciej Chwała  3 , Tomasz Ridan  4 , Arkadiusz Berwecki  4 , Piotr Mika  5 , Anita Kulik  6 , Małgorzata Berwecka  7 , Maria T Szewczyk  8   9
Affiliations
Review

Intermittent Claudication in Physiotherapists' Practice

Anna Spannbauer et al. Biomed Res Int. .

Abstract

Intermittent claudication is a symptom of atherosclerosis of the lower limbs (peripheral arterial disease (PAD)) and is characterized by pain and cramps of lower limb muscles during exercise. Claudication leads to a reduction in physical activity of patients. PAD is a systemic disease. Atherosclerotic lesions located in the arteries of the lower limbs not only pose the risk of the ischemic limb loss, but above all, they are an important prognostic factor. Patients with claudication are at significant risk of cardiovascular complications such as infarcts or strokes. Comprehensive rehabilitation of patients with intermittent claudication based on the current TASC II (Inter-Society Consensus for the Management of Peripheral Arterial Disease) guidelines, ESC (European Society of Cardiology) guidelines, and AHA (American Heart Association) guidelines includes supervised treadmill training, training on a bicycle ergometer, Nordic Walking, resistance exercises of lower limb muscles, and exercises of upper limbs. A trained, educated, and motivated patient has a chance to improve life quality as well as life expectancy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Treatment of claudication: treadmill training.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Exercise test on the treadmill with blood pressure (CTK), heart rate (CAS), and ECG monitoring.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Management of PAD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Olinic D. M., Spinu M., Olinic M., et al. Epidemiology of peripheral disease in Europe—VAS educational paper. International Angiology. 2018;37(4):327–334. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326540655_Epidemiology_of_perip.... - PubMed
    1. Hiatt W. R., Brass E. P. Chromanie przestankowe—patofizjologia. In: Creager M. A., Dzau V. J., Loscalzo J., editors. Choroby Naczyn. 1st. Lublin, Poland: Wydawnictwo Czelej; 2008. pp. 276–292.
    1. Berwecki A., Ridan T., Janusz M., Berwecka M., Spannbauer A., Nowak J. Evaluation of the quality of life in outpatients with atherosclerotic ischemia of lower limbs treated conservatively. In: Jaworek J., Franczuk B., editors. Fizjoterapia W Teorii I Praktyce. 1st. Krakow, Poland: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego; 2012. pp. 11–28.
    1. Kocik B., Spannbauer A., Mika P. Rehabilitation procedure in patients with stable angina pectoris after percutaneous angioplasty of the coronary arteries. Pielęgniarstwo Chirurgiczne I Angiologiczne. 2018;3:90–99. https://www.termedia.pl/Rehabilitation-procedure-in-patients-with-stable....
    1. Mika P., Cencora A. Effects of treadmill training on walking distance and lower limb blood flow in patients with intermittent claudication. Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine. 2005;9:9–15.

MeSH terms