Objective To evaluate the impact of the intradialytic physical training program on the level of disability and physical performance in patients subjected to hemodialysis.
Materials and methods 18 patients subjected to hemodialysis, whose ages ranged from 54 to 84 (10 women) were included in the study. Nine of these patients participated in a combined training program, which lasted 12 weeks, the training sessions were carried out within each dialysis session, the working session involved a warm-up period, aerobic exercise with pedals, or strength exercises based on free-weight depending on the training stage. The Borg scale and the heart rate reserve were used to control the training intensity. The disability level was evaluated at the beginning and end of the study through the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule II, the six minutes walk test (6MWT), quadriceps strength, Kt/V, serum levels of potassium and creatinine.
Outcomes One subject belonging to the experimental group did not complete the training due to problems in the venous access during the 1st month of training. 8 patients in to the experimental group showed significant improvements in the 6MWT, quadriceps strength and decrease in the level of disability. No changes were observed in the control group. No significant changes were found in the serum levels of potassium and creatine.
Conclusions An Intradialytic physical training program achieved a substantial decrease in the level of disability, and an improvement of aerobic capacity and muscle strength. The study was funded by the extension office of the Austral University of Chile.
