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Trainer-supervised exercise program may improve complications from DVT
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A 6-month exercise training program that improves fitness, leg strength and leg flexibility may aid patients with post-thrombotic syndrome, according to the results of a pilot trial conducted by Canadian investigators.
Chronic post-thrombotic syndrome develops in up to 50% of patients with deep vein thrombosis, according to a press release from the Canadian Medical Association Journal, which published the study.
“Given that effective treatments are lacking, new approaches to managing post-thrombotic syndrome are needed,” study investigator, Susan Kahn, MD, and colleagues wrote.
Kahn and her colleagues randomized 43 patients with post-thrombotic syndrome at two centers to undergo a 6-month program with a trainer or a control group which received an education session and monthly follow-up phone calls. Thirty-nine patients completed the study.
In addition to increased leg strength and flexibility, the investigators found that patients in the exercise program group had improved Villalta scale and Venous Insufficiency Epidemiological and Economic Study Quality of Life questionnaire scores.
“The findings of our small trial should be interpreted with caution and require confirmation in a larger study,” the authors wrote. “As most of our patients were young, well-educated and active, the results obtained may not be generalizable to patients with post-thrombotic syndrome at other centers.”
References:
- Kahn SR, Shrier I, Shapiro S, et al. Six-month exercise training program to treat post-thrombotic syndrome: a randomized controlled two-centre trial.CMAJ. 2010 Nov 22. [Epub ahead of print]
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