Evaluating the effect of intradialytic exercise on blood pressure, inflammatory markers and dialysis adequacy

Introduction: In spite of widely accepted idea that exercise is beneficial in dialysis, it is not easy to incorporate an exercise program into routine clinical practice of these patients. Objectives: The present study was conducted to evaluate the effects of exercise on hemodialysis patients. Patients and Methods: In this non-pharmacologic clinical trial, a total of 49 clinically stable hemodialysis patients were enrolled in the study and were randomly allocated into two groups; the intervention group (n=27) and the control group (n=22). The intervention group conducted at least 30 minutes of cycling during each hemodialysis session for six months. Intradialytic blood pressure, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) blood levels and dialysis adequacy were estimated before and after dialysis. Results: At the end of the 6-month study period, a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in all patients of the intervention group (P<0.05) was detected. Although the dialysis quality increased more than 1.2, it was not statistically significant. Moreover hs-CRP was decreased in the exercise group at the end of the study, while these outcomes were not statistically significant too. Conclusion: Intradialytic exercise can lead to a significant reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in hemodialysis patients. Trial registration: This randomized controlled trial was registered in the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (#IRCT2015092324152N1, https://irct.ir/trial/20465, ethical code; ARAKMU.REC.1393.168.1).