Increased physical fitness among patients following endurance training during haemodialysis

The study aimed to investigate the effect of 6 months of endurance training of moderate intensity on physical performance and the risk of falling in haemodialysis patients.

This was a prospective interventional study in which 21 of 35 eligible patients accepted to participate. The 6-minute walk test (6MWT), timed up and go (TUG), timed stand test and Romberg's test were used to evaluate physical fitness. The Borg scale was used to control the workload. The patients bicycled for 12-40 min with increasing workload according to their capabilities. Wilcoxon signed ranks and McNemar's tests were used for analysis.

Of the 21 participants, 12 completed 3 months of training. Their median (range) age was 69 (37-88) years, duration of dialysis was 2.5 (1-11) years and body mass index was 25.0 (20.0-31.9). Romberg's test was positive in four participants at the beginning but in three after 3 months. Nine participants completed 6 months of training; none had a positive Romberg's test at that time. Walking distance increased significantly after 3 and 6 months of training (p = 0.002 and p = 0.012, respectively), and time for the TUG decreased significantly (p = 0.041 and p = 0.044), as did time for the timed stand test (p = 0.015 and 0.018), compared with baseline values. The TUG test was in excess of 14 s in four patients at baseline but only one at the end of training.

Endurance training of moderate intensity during dialysis results in significantly increased physical performance in haemodialysis patients.