In a recent study, a simple exercise program carried out at home improved dialysis patients' walking performance and quality of life. The findings appear in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).
Studies have suggested that physical exercise can provide benefits for dialysis patients. To see if something as simple as walking may have positive effects, a team led by Carmine Zoccali, MD (CNR-IFC, Clinical Epidemiology and Physiopathology of Renal Diseases and Hypertension of Reggio Calabria, Italy), along with Fabio Manfredini, MD, (University of Ferrara), and Francesca Mallamaci, MD (Reggio Cal Renal and Transplantation Unit and CNR) randomized 296 dialysis patients to normal physical activity or a low intensity exercise program-20 minutes of walking at low-moderate speed every second day-of gradually increasing intensity over 6 months (See video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ki8YX_t-0jA).
