Letters to the Editor
Further Options for Establishing Walking Training Groups
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Ingwersen et al. in their very important and interesting review article (1) noted quite correctly the gaps in the provision of vascular exercise groups. Additionally we wish to raise awareness of two further options for expanding the network of local walking training groups.
On the one hand, the initiative of the German Society for Vascular Surgery and Vascular Medicine (DGG) for the blanket expansion of walking training groups for patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD) (2). To this end, an obvious important partner—in addition to the exercise group services mentioned by Ingwersen et al.—is the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) with almost 6300 sports clubs and local sports offerings for people with disabilities. The DBS’s certified exercise instructors are also licensed to look after a group of patients with PAD. If—as is unfortunately today’s therapeutic landscape in many places—no active local PAD exercise group exists, the option is to contact the local DBS club in order to form a vascular exercise group. The structures to do so exist, and local rehabilitation exercise groups are ready and willing to help and support interested patients.
On the other hand, the training course “sports therapy for patients with vascular disorders” in Oberhausen (3) deserves mentioning, which facilitates learning to instruct a walking training group independently.
Last but not least, it needs to be borne in mind that patients should be continuously actively motivated to participate in walking groups. It is among the tasks of vascular specialists to continue to organize under their own steam continuously new walking sports groups, to establish these, and to bring them to life.
This is the only way in which multimodal, guideline conform PAD therapy can be offered on a blanket nationwide basis.
DOI: 10.3238/arztebl.m2024.0009
Dr. VAK Moskau Dmitriy Dovzhanskiy
Facharzt für Gefäßchirurgie
Bensheim/Heppenheim
dovzhanskiy@praxis-fuer-gefaesschirurgie.de
Dr. med. Siamak Pourhassan
Facharzt für Gefäßchirurgie, Oberhausen
| 1. | Ingwersen M, Kunstmann I, Oswald C, Best N, Weisser B, Teichgräber U: Exercise training for patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease—efficacy and adherence. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2023; 120: 879–85 VOLLTEXT |
| 2. | Dovzhanskiy D, Behrendt CA, Görtz H, et al.: Das große Verbesserungspotenzial in der multiodalen Basisbehandöung der peripheren arteriellen Verschlusskrankheit (pAVK): ein Aufruf zum flächendeckenden Ausbau der pAVK-Gehtrainingsgruppen in Deutschland. Gefäßchirurgie 2023; 28: 235–9 CrossRef |
| 3. | www.gg-west.de/de/Gefaesssymposium/Kurse_und_Workshops/Gefaesssport-Trainer/ (last accessed on 26 December 2023). |
