The effect of intradialytic exercise training on the quality of life and fatigue in hemodialysis patients

Hemodialysis treatment will affect the patient's life in the long term. The majority of hemodialysis patients lead a sedentary lifestyle which, in return, may cause them additional health complications. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of intradialytic exercise training on the improvement of patients’ quality of lives and muscle strength. The subjects of this experimental study (pretest – posttest with control group) were thirty volunteer patients with the average age of 45 years who were undergoing hemodialysis treatment three times a week at Shariati dialysis center (Isfahan-Iran). All participants were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. The Quality of Life Questionnaire (KDQOL-SFtm) and a test designed for assessing sitting on and rising from a chair were used for data collection. A five-month exercise training program in which the subject was asked to use a bicycle during dialysis developed for the experimental group. Exercise sessions were held three times a week with the duration of approximately sixty minutes per session. During this period, the control group did not participate in any athletic activity. Descriptive and inferential statistical methods of covariance analysis were conducted for data analysis using SPSS software version 18. The results of this study showed that at the end of the five-month program, the quality of life of the experimental group significantly improved (P < 0.05) while there was not such improvement in the control group (P > 0.05). Moreover, muscle strength had significantly increased in the experimental group as compared to the controls (P < 0.05). Study results indicated that exercise training had a positive effect on enhancing the quality of life, removing fatigue and improving muscle strength in hemodialysis patients. According to the results, the importance of exercise during dialysis to promote physical and mental health in hemodialysis centers becomes obvious.