Impairments in ankle range of motion, dorsi and plantar flexors muscle strength and gait speed in patients with chronic venous disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective To verify the differences in ankle range of motion (ROM), muscle strength of dorsi and plantar flexors, and gait speed among healthy subjects, and patients with chronic venous disorders (CVD) with and without venous leg ulcer. Methods A systematic review and meta-analysis ( http://osf.io/b7n3k ) were conducted following a search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, LILACS, Scopus, and EMBASE databases. Results Eight papers were included. The ankle ROM was significantly lower both in dorsiflexion and plantar flexion in patients with venous leg ulcer when compared to healthy individuals and CVD patients without venous leg ulcer. The muscle strength of the plantar flexors and gait speed were reduced in CVD patients when compared to healthy ones. Conclusion Impaired muscle strength and gait speed can be detected in CVD patients compared to healthy individuals, and ankle ROM tends to be reduced in CVD patients even in the absence of venous leg ulcers.

Physiotherapy in Chronic Venous Disease

“…The authors could not detect significant differences in ROM between legs with confirmed CVD, but no ulcer and healthy legs [29]. A very recent meta-analysis was able to show that both, dorsiflexion, and plantarflexion is impaired in patients with VLU when comparing healthy subjects and patients with CVD without ulcer [30]. As more women are affected by CVD, also high-heeled shoes can be a predisposing factor for loosing full ankle ROM because of the pronounced plantarflexion during standing and walking.…”

Physiologie des Venensystems der Extremitäten – Teil 2: Einflussfaktoren

“…Patienten mit CVD, v. a. in höheren C-Klassen, haben eine Funktionsminderung der Wadenmuskelpumpe [49,50]. Die reduzierte Muskelkraft tritt dabei bei CVD-Patienten häufig mit einer ROM-Einschränkung und einer reduzierten Ganggeschwindigkeit auf [51]. Ist die Wadenmuskelpumpe insuffizient, bestehen größere Geschwüre als mit intakter Muskelpumpe.…”