What is the definition of claudication?

• A. Intermittent claudication only during exercise
• B. Pain relieved with rest
• C. Constant pain, even during rest, caused by lack of oxygen to the tissue of the afflicted extremity
• D. Sharp intermittent pain with swelling

Answer: (C)

Claudication is leg pain that is brought on by walking or exertion when blood flow to the leg muscles is insufficient, and it relieves with rest. This pattern shows reversible ischemia during activity and is the hallmark of peripheral arterial disease at a stage where demands during exercise exceed supply. Rest pain, by contrast, occurs even at rest and indicates more advanced disease, not claudication. So the defining idea is pain that appears with activity and disappears with rest, rather than constant rest pain or pain with swelling.