STADS Physiotherapy
Supervised walking therapy
Fewer symptoms without surgery Guided work towards a healthy lifestyle Covered by your basic insurance
or call 040 – 311 1151 / 013 – 303 0361
No referral neededSeen within 48 hoursContracts with all health insurers
What is intermittent claudication?
Intermittent claudication is a mouthful for something simple: pain in your legs due to reduced blood flow to the muscle tissue. In everyday Dutch it’s called etalagebenen (‘window-shopper’s legs’).
Because of the pain you can’t walk as far, and you regularly have to stop for a moment until it eases.
Why walking therapy works
Training makes your body grow new blood vessels in your legs that bypass the narrowing. As a result, you can gradually walk further again – even though the narrowing itself hasn’t gone away.
That’s why walking therapy is the first choice for most people, before a procedure is even considered.
What does the programme look like?
You train intensively with the walking therapist for a period. After that, we stay in touch for a few more months to measure the effect and report back to your vascular surgeon.
That feedback isn’t a formality: based on it, the vascular surgeon decides whether anything else is needed.
It hurts, and that’s OK
In walking therapy, you keep walking until just before your pain threshold. That feels unnatural, but it’s exactly that stimulus that triggers the growth of new blood vessels. Taking it easy gets you less.
Reimbursement
Supervised walking therapy is covered by your basic insurance. You do need a referral for it.
What you can do yourself
Stopping smoking is by far the most important thing. Walking every day also helps, including on days when you don’t train, as does keeping an eye on your blood pressure and cholesterol.
What is intermittent claudication?
Intermittent claudication, or peripheral arterial disease, is popularly known in Dutch as ‘etalagebenen’ (‘window-shopper’s legs’). Narrowing of the arteries in the legs causes pain during exertion (for example walking). After a short break, the symptoms often fade.
Features of intermittent claudication
- While walking, you get pain or a tired feeling in your legs (calves).
- The symptoms disappear fairly quickly when you stop for a moment.
- In some cases, people get cold feet, thickened toenails or slow healing of small wounds.
What can you do about intermittent claudication?
Walking therapy is a safe, effective treatment to improve blood flow, coordination and the endurance of your muscles. This reduces the pain and increases the distance you can walk without pain.
A healthy lifestyle without smoking, with healthy eating, well-adjusted medication and enough exercise helps keep the symptoms under control in the long term.
A more invasive option is balloon angioplasty or a bypass in hospital. Even after that, it’s essential to work on a healthy lifestyle.
What does the physiotherapist do for intermittent claudication?
Walking therapy has been shown to be more effective when it’s properly supervised. The physiotherapist can also guide you in the lifestyle changes (stopping smoking, healthy exercise, healthy eating) that are needed to have fewer symptoms in the long term.
Am I insured for physiotherapy for intermittent claudication?
Physiotherapy for intermittent claudication is covered by the basic insurance (with a diagnosis of intermittent claudication, Fontaine stage 2). After a referral from a GP or specialist, 37 treatments are covered. You don’t need supplementary insurance for this.
For more information, contact your health insurer, or call STADS. We’re happy to help.
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