Effect of Footrest Angle on Decrement of Leg Swelling while Sitting

Abstract

Sitting in the comfort of chairs is an important factor of daily life, but leg swelling results in languor of lower legs and decreases sitting comfort. Many studies have examined the mechanism of increased leg swelling; however, few have investigated the mechanism of decrease leg swelling. We studied the effect of the footrest angle on decreases in leg swelling by measuring leg swelling with bioelectrical impedance method (BI method) and blood flow with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). We performed the sitting experiment with six volunteers. It comprised three parts; (1) lying supine for 20 minutes to alleviate leg swelling, (2) sitting on a high stool for 30 minutes to increase leg swelling, (3) sitting on a trial chair with a footrest for 30 minutes to decrease leg swelling in order to research the differences among three footrest angles (0°, 15°, and 30°). By the results of the BI method, leg swelling increased by sitting on the high stool and decreased by sitting on the trial chair with a 30° footrest. By the results of NIRS, the quantity of deoxygenated hemoglobin (deOXY-Hb) increased by sitting on the high stool and the quantity of oxygenated hemoglobin (OXY-Hb) increased by sitting on the trial chair. In comparison of leg swelling and blood flow, it is considered that increases in deOXY-Hb influences gains in leg swelling, and increases in OXY-Hb influences reductions in leg swelling.

Acute effect of wearing compression stockings on lower leg swelling and muscle stiffness in healthy young women

“…Leg swelling or peripheral oedema is not only a common problem in patients with venous and lymphatic disorders but also prevalent in the general population, including pregnant women (Jacobs et al, 1986) and workers involved in prolonged sitting and standing tasks (Kraemer et al, 2000;Partsch et al, 2004;Yamaguchi et al, 2014). Compression stockings are known to be effective in reducing peripheral oedema by increasing tissue pressure and venous blood flow.…”

“…The degree of leg swelling has been commonly assessed with water displacement volumetry that has proved to be cost effective and highly reliable (Pasley & O'Connor, 2008). In addition to this, the present study employed segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis that has also been used and well validated for assessing leg swelling (Stick et al, 1985;Seo et al, 1997;Yamaguchi et al, 2014;Vena et al, 2017). There are several types of bioelectrical impedance analysis available, among which we chose bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy that can effectively distinguish between intracellular and extracellular fluid resistances (Yamada et al, 2010(Yamada et al, , 2017Yamaguchi et al, 2014).…”

“…In addition to this, the present study employed segmental bioelectrical impedance analysis that has also been used and well validated for assessing leg swelling (Stick et al, 1985;Seo et al, 1997;Yamaguchi et al, 2014;Vena et al, 2017). There are several types of bioelectrical impedance analysis available, among which we chose bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy that can effectively distinguish between intracellular and extracellular fluid resistances (Yamada et al, 2010(Yamada et al, , 2017Yamaguchi et al, 2014). Furthermore, we measured the stiffness of lower leg muscles with ultrasound shear-wave elastography (Bercoff et al, 2004), as increased interstitial tissue pressure due to fluid accumulation is likely to be a factor increasing tissue stiffness (Weaver et al, 2007).…”