Participants
The study involved 135 individuals, of whom 85 (the PAD group)represented a group diagnosed with chronic lower limb ischemia atstage II, according to Fontaine’s classification (mean age 68.1), while 50 subjects (the control group) represented a group of students ofthe University of the Third Age (mean age 72.6).The inclusion criteria were: age over 60 years; documented, sta-ble for at least 3 months intermittent claudication; intermittent claudication distance: 30–320 m (stage II according to the Fontaine Classification) and the ankle–brachial index (ABI) < 0.9. The charac-teristics of the studied groups are presented in Table 1.Exclusion criteria for participation in the study were: inability toperform functional tests due to motor malfunction, unstable coro-nary disease, poorly controlled hypertension, decompensated heartfailure, level of subjective fatigue less than 7 points according toBorg’s 10-point scale, revascularization in the last year, and mentalillnesses.The subjects in the control group were examined by the vascu-lar medicine specialist. Only patients who declared that they canwalk more than 500 m without leg pain and stopping for other rea-sons (e.g. dyspnoea) were examined. Patients with degenerativespine/joint disease were excluded if they could not walk 500 m without pain or they had history of spine or joint surgery.