Does Supervised Exercise Offer Adjuvant Benefit Over Exercise Advice Alone for the Treatment of Intermittent Claudication? A Randomised Trial

Objective. Exercise advice is the main treatment for symptom relief in the UK for patients with mild to moderate Intermittent Claudication (IC). Would a weekly exercise and motivation class for 6 months offer adjuvant benefit over written and verbal exercise advice alone? Patients and methods. Fifty-nine patients attending a regional vascular centre for whom IC was the main factor affecting mobility were randomised to either exercise advice alone ( n=30) or exercise advice with a once a week 45 min supervised exercise/motivation class ( n=29). The mean age was 68 years. Baseline and 6-month assessment included a Quality of Life Questionnaire—the Short-Form-36, the Charing Cross Symptom Specific Claudication Questionnaire (CCCQ) and treadmill walking distance (3.5 km/h 12%). Results. At 6-month follow-up the supervised exercise group had improved their treadmill walking by 129% compared to 69% in the advice alone group ( p=0.001). This significant improvement was maintained at the subsequent 9 and 12-month follow-up assessments. By the 9-month stage the advice only group CCCQ score had improved 16% from baseline, while the supervised exercise group had a significantly better 43% improvement in base line score ( p