Potential clinical utility of partial body weight support on treadmill walking time in persons with intermittent...

Intermittent claudication can seriously limit an individual's walking capacity. Walking programs are known to improve this limitation but could be limited by a person's ability to carry his or her own full body weight to perform the walking. We theorized that decreasing body weight, through mechanical unloading, might allow longer pain-free walking, thus potentially accelerating exercise training. This case report describes the effect of partial body weight support (PBWS) on walking time in a patient with claudication. A 60-year-old male with calf pain that prevented him from walking long distances or walking quickly was studied. The patient completed three treadmill walking tests (0%, 25%, and 50% PBWS) until claudication pain stopped him or 15 minutes elapsed. The participant walked 4:31 minutes at 0% PBWS with a pain rating of 3/4. He walked the full 15 minutes under each support condition with the same or less claudication pain (3/4 for 25% PBWS, 2/4 for 50% PBWS). This case reports the successful use of PBWS treadmill training for increasing walking time in an individual with intermittent claudication. If this finding holds true for a larger sample, PBWS may be a way for these individuals to participate in exercise training programs with less pain.