Effects of strengthening the surae triceps muscle on venous pump function in chronic venous insufficiency

BACKGROUND: Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a common disease that causes calf muscle pump dysfunction and has repercussions for the hemodynamics of the structures involved. OBJECTIVES: To analyze the effects on venous hemodynamics of exercises to strengthen the calf muscles in patients with CVI. METHODS: The study analyzed 25 lower limbs with CVI, classified from C1 to C5 according to the Clinical, Etiology, Anatomy, and Pathophysiology (CEAP) classification, in 13 patients recruited from a Lymphedema and Angiodysplasia Clinic at the Hospital Universitário Regional dos Campos Gerais (Brazil). The variables analyzed were collected by isometric dynamometry, goniometry, leg circumference measurement, and adipometry at baseline, after 1 month and 2 months and at the end of the exercise protocol. RESULTS: Dorsiflexion and plantar flexion measurements increased by 5º (p < 0.001). Adipometry detected a reduction in 5 mm (p < 0.001). When grouped by CEAP class, C2 exhibited 5º increases in dorsiflexion (p = 0.02) and plantar flexion (p < 0.001); C3 exhibited a 5ºincrease in dorsiflexion (p = 0.003) and a 1mm reduction in adipometry (p < 0.004); and C1 exhibited a 1.2cm increase in leg circumference (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Administration of exercise protocols should be considered as a treatment option for CVI, since it has a positive impact on risk factors and on the functions that are impaired by this pathology.