Background: There are still many barriers when implementing exercise routines within daily dialysis care, even though benefits are well-known. Developing cost-effective strategies is necessary to overcome these barriers and include exercise as a complementary therapy in dialysis.
Aim: To compare several exercise programs on hemodialysis patient's functional capacity and health-related quality of life.
Design: This study was a 16-week follow-up, two-parallel group trial with balanced randomization.
Setting: Participants in this study belonged to a private hospitalized care center.
Population: Referred sample of 71 patients that suffered end-stage chronic kidney disease who underwent hemodialysis for at least 3 months and had a medical stable condition.
Methods: Thirty-six participants performed for 16 weeks an intradialytic exercise program lead by the nursing staff of the hemodialysis unit and 35 a home-based program supervised by physical therapists of the hospital.
Results: The main researcher and the data analyst were both blinded to participant allocation. There was a significant effect in time for both groups. Participants improved significantly in the Short Performance Physical Battery (SPPB), One-Leg Heel-Rise (OLHR) and 6 Minute-Walk Test (6MWT), and in the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) and Short Survey Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaires.
Conclusions: Nurse-led and home-based exercise interventions produce beneficial effects involving physical function, activity levels and health-related quality of life in patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Clinical rehabilitation impact: The study emphasizes the importance of exercise rehabilitation routines in fragile populations such as dialysis patients, and the potential to overcome barriers for its daily implementation.