Plantar flexion as an alternative to treadmill exercise for evaluating patients with intermittent claudication.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to examine whether the plantar flexion test could adequately replace treadmill testing in patients who were unable to exercise.


METHODS
Prospective observational study.


METHODS
Twenty-seven patients with intermittent claudication secondary to peripheral arterial disease (PAD).


METHODS
Patients performed two treadmill tests and two plantar flexion tests. Ankle pressure, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) data, heart rate and blood pressures were monitored along with pain-free and maximum walking distances for treadmill, pain-free and maximum exercise time for plantar flexion.


RESULTS
Maximum exercise time and walking distance were well correlated (R=0.74). Eleven patients (41%) developed non-claudicating symptoms during the treadmill test but not during the flexion test. Rate pressure product was significantly higher after the treadmill but not after the plantar flexion.


CONCLUSIONS
Plantar flexion test showed good reliability and correlation. Plantar flexion may serve as an alternative to treadmill testing in evaluating muscle pain in patients with intermittent claudication.
Yamamoto
K
K
Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Miyata
T
T
Onozuka
A
A
Koyama
H
H
Ohtsu
H
H
Nagawa
H
H
D000368:Aged; D000842:Ankle / Q000098:blood supply; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000503:physiopathology; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007866:Leg / Q000098:blood supply; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000098:blood supply; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared