Effects of Aerobic Versus Resisted Intradialytic Exercises on Quality of Life, Pain, and Physiological Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease

Purpose: Exercise improves various health outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease, but the impact of different types of exercise on chronic kidney disease patients undergoing dialysis is not well understood. This aimed to comparatively assess the impact of intradialytic resistance and aerobic exercises on urea reduction rate concentration and various quality of life dimensions in chronic kidney disease patients. Methods: In this single-blinded, randomized controlled trial with a pre-and post-test design, 30 patients (both sexes, aged 25-35 years, BMI 18-25 kg/m²) diagnosed with stage 4 chronic kidney disease and stable on dialysis for a minimum of 2 months were enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned equally to either the resistance exercise group or the aerobic exercise group and underwent respective exercise interventions for 8 weeks. Urea reduction rate and quality of life dimensions were evaluated before and after the intervention period. Results: Both resistance and aerobic exercise modalities significantly changed urea reduction rate and quality of life dimensions in chronic kidney disease patients (p<0.05). No significant difference in post-intervention urea reduction rate levels (mg/dL) was observed between the groups (resistance group = 89.43 ± 14.29; aerobic group = 86.33 ± 14.75; p=0.563). Furthermore, all quality of life dimensions exhibited significant differences between the groups, except for physical function. The aerobic group exhibited superior general health outcomes compared to the resistance exercise group (mean = 59.98 ± 0.96 versus 56.26 ± 0.95) following the intervention. Conclusion: Aerobic exercise showed better general health outcomes, though both modalities improved Urea reduction rate and quality of life. Integrating intradialytic exercise enhances patient wellbeing. Trial Registration: The study was retrospectively registered on the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry under registration number PACTR202112710463704.