[Intermittent claudication of the legs: what can be obtained without pharmacologic agents]

Intermittent claudication of the lower limbs is treated routinely by either drugs, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty, surgery or a combination of these. Each of these therapeutic approaches carries a certain risk; side effects can develop. Moreover, often there is a lack of well controlled studies to evaluate the objective basis of the results. Therefore, in the present paper, evolution of walking distance in patients presenting with intermittent claudication was followed during non-pharmacological treatment mainly consisting of daily muscle training and avoiding to use nicotine.