Impact of twelve weeks march field training on intermittent claudication in patients with peripheral artery disease after endovascular procedures

Introduction
March Training (MT) is one of the ways to improve the results of treatment in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of march training on the claudication distance in patients with PAD who underwent endovascular surgery.

Material and methods
The study included 30 patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and evaluated the claudication distance on a treadmill: before endovascular surgery, 3 days and 3 months after the surgery. The maximum claudication distance (MCD) was measured during each test on a treadmill. Patients were randomly divided into 2 groups of 15: group A consisted of patients who were not recommended to march after endovascular surgery and group B consisted of patients to whom training was recommended. Patients in group B were recommended march training at home for 3 months according to the following schedule: walking at a regular walking pace of 60-120 feet’s per minute for at least 30 minutes, 3 times a day, 3 days a week, supervised by a physiotherapist.

Results
Group A - MCD before surgery: 103,23m , MCD 3 days after surgery: 179m, MCD 3 months after treatment: 136,67m , p <0.001.

Conclusions
MCD carried out for 3 months after endovascular treatment of patients with PAD is better in group of patient systematically doing march training compared to patients without such training.