JAMA · 1953 · 21 citations · 4 references
MedicinePhysiologyExercise PhysiologyPhysical ActivityPhysical TherapyCardiovascular PhysiologyHemodynamicsPeripheral Arterial DiseaseTherapeutic ExerciseBlood FlowCirculation Of BloodExercise HemodynamicsPeripheral Arterial Disease InterventionPeripheral Artery Disease Treatment
Many therapeutic agents are used in the treatment of occlusive peripheral arterial disease. Most of them are utilized to obtain an increased blood flow in the tissues of the extremities. An agent commonly used is therapeutic exercise. Exercise is done either in the form described by Buerger or that described by Buerger and modified by Allen.1Allen, Barker, and Hines state: is surprising that this method of treatment has been used so widely and yet there has been so little curiosity manifested as to whether or not it is effective in increasing the flow of blood through the extremity. The theory apparently has been that if the blood vessels were alternately emptied and distended, they would eventually accept an increased function in the transportation of blood. So far as we know there is not the slightest physiologic evidence that this occurs.1 It was the purpose of our
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