Treadmill with Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation Impact on Peak Velocity in Peripheral Arterial Disease: a Randomized Controlled Trial

INTRODUCTION. Patients’ functional ability and quality of life are negatively impacted by peripheral arterial disease, which presents as incapacitating leg discomfort that affects walking. Although there are numerous methods for treating these symptoms, as treadmill training, individuals stopped because of their persistent pain. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) is a suggested treatment for pain relief. AIM. This study aimed to determine how combined treadmill training and TENS affect walking distance, pain, and peak velocity in patients with peripheral artery disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS. The study included 50 people with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), stage II Fontaine, and an ankle-brachial index of 0.90 or lower at rest or 0.73 or lower after exercise. Participants were randomly assigned to either supervised treadmill training (control group, n = 25) or supervised treadmill training combined with TENS (experimental group, n = 25) for 3 months. Doppler ultrasonography, and skeletal muscle oxygen saturation (SmO₂) were evaluated at baseline and after the study’s completion. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The experimental group significantly improved all parameters being assessed more than the control group ( 0.05), except total hemoglobin, which did not differ statistically between groups. CONCLUSION. This trial is the first to use treadmill training in conjunction with TENS as an adjuvant method to improve vascular function in people with PAD. Patients may use this strategy over time to improve their walking abilities, and it might be introduced into normal care in cardiovascular retraining.