title: Pain-free treadmill exercise for patients with intermittent claudication: Are there gender differences?
abstract: Intermittent claudication, a common symptom of peripheral arterial disease, results in insufficient blood flow and oxygen supply to lower extremity muscles. Compared to men, women with peripheral arterial disease have a higher rate of mobility loss with peripheral arterial disease due to poorer lower extremity functioning. This study evaluates the effect of supervised pain-free treadmill exercise on improving performance in women with intermittent claudication due to peripheral arterial disease in comparison to men. A total of 26 participants (women, n = 9, 34.62%; mean age = 67.58 ± 5.59 years; averaging 23.46 ± 3.91 visits and 10.46 ± 0.99 weeks in the program) diagnosed with peripheral arterial disease, with symptoms of intermittent claudication, partook in a 45 min treadmill walk, twice per week, below the participant's minimal pain threshold. Female participants' change scores showed 752%, 278% and 115% improvement in mean walking distance, duration and rate, respectively. Men improved 334%, 149% and 80%, respectively. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in pre and post measurements within each group support positive outcomes. No significant differences between groups were observed (Cohen's d effect size > 0.80). Our results suggest that women reap similar benefits from this low-intensity treadmill program in comparison to men.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA krishd@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dipnarine
authors.affiliation: The Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital, Ramat Gan, Israel The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel Kaye Academic College of Education, Beer-Sheba, Israel.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barak
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Coleen A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Eliezer
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carmeli
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
authors.forename: Christine B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Stopka
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007383:Intermittent Claudication / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D016138:Walking
keywords: Peripheral arterial disease; intermittent claudication; low-intensity exercise therapy; treadmill exercise therapy