Potential benefits of Nordic Walking for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Introduction: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) has a progressive decline in physical activity and lung function, as well as a negative psychological impact. Nordic Walking (NW) is an aerobic exercise where 90% of muscles from neck to feet participate. Objective: The aim of this pilot training program was to evaluate the improve in exercise capacity, lung function and quality of life (QoL) in IPF patients after 12 weeks of NW training. Methods: Twenty-one IPF volunteers (17 mild, 3 moderate and 1 severe) participated in a pilot NW training program with 2 qualified instructors. Sixty minute sessions were practiced once a week during 12 consecutive weeks. Pulmonary function test (PFT), 6 minutes Walking Test (6MWT) and QoL tests (StGeorge and KBILD) were performed before and after the program. Patients who did not complete all sessions was due to: non-medical reasons (4), acute exacerbation (2), flue (2), Pulmonary embolism (1), depression (1). The last 2 were withdrawn of the analisis. T-student and linear regression were used as statistical analyze. Significant differences were considered when p≤0.05. Results: An increase of ≥25 meters in 6MWT at 12 weeks of training was observed in 43% of patients. Despite PFT decline in 4 patients, 3 of them increased meters walked without increasing dispnea. Total Lung Capacity improved between 7-14% in 6 patients (p>0.05). There were not differences in QoL tests; however all patients declare to feel physical and emotionally better. The total number of sessions did not show statistical differences. Conclusions: NW training showed to be safety and improve the total meters reached in the 6MWT. The sample size and the no-randomization of patients limited the statistical analysis.