Intermittent pneumatic compression for prolonged standing workers with leg edema and pain

Abstract

Even healthy individuals often encounter leg venous symptoms such as heaviness, pain, and swelling especially after prolonged standing work. Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) is a widely used simple therapy for preventing deep vein thrombosis and for treating lymphedema and chronic venous insufficiency. However, IPC has not been evaluated for its effect in relieving venous symptoms of healthy people. This was single center, cross-over study to investigate the effect of IPC for 20 healthy volunteers who usually stand on duty and complain of leg pain and swelling. The primary outcome was pain (measured using a visual analogue scale) and secondary outcomes were leg circumference and volume. Three different interventions included natural rest, sequential mode of IPC, and circular mode of IPC. Outcomes were measured before work and immediately after work (T1), after 30 minutes of intervention (T2), and 30 minutes of rest after intervention (T3). Pain and leg circumferences were significantly improved at T2 and T3 compared with those at T1. Sequential and circular IPC led to significantly greater improvement in pain and leg circumferences than just natural rest, but there was no difference in its effect according to the 2 modes of IPC. Leg volume was reduced significantly at T2 and T3 as compared with T1 in all 3 interventions, but effects did not differ among 3 intervention groups. IPC is effective for reducing leg pain and circumferences more than natural rest in healthy adults with prolonged standing work, without causing adverse events.

Comparison of intermittent pneumatic compression device and compression stockings for workers with leg edema and pain after prolonged standing: a prospective crossover clinical trial

“…A previous study of people without any specific vascular diseases or symptoms with prolonged standing occupations reported that the ankle hydrostatic venous pressure increased to 90 mmHg and leg volume deteriorated to 50 mL when standing for a long time [ 30 – 33 ]. Similar to previous studies, this study confirmed that prolonged standing work causes leg pain and swelling [ 2 – 5 , 24 , 30 – 34 ]. In protocol A and C where stockings were not worn, the mean leg volume at T1 compared to that at T0 increased by 65.4–81.1 mL, and the circumference increased by 0–0.1 cm in the distal area below the calf and clearly increased by 0.1–0.4 cm in the proximal area.…”

“…Therefore, the findings of this study confirmed that IPC can effectively treat leg pain and edema in people with occupations requiring prolonged standing. Although several studies have reported on the effectiveness of IPC and MCS in people who were standing for a long time or patients with venous insufficiency, this study contained several unique issues [ 6 , 15 – 18 , 21 , 24 , 34 ]. First, this study targeted people who had an 8 h standing occupation rather than a short standing or sedentary occupation.…”

“…Finally, for visit 4, MCS was worn for more than 8 h during the workday and the IPC device was used similarly as in visit 3 (Protocol D). The pressure in each chamber was set by the participants within the range of 90–130 mmHg [ 24 ], such that the pressure did not cause excessive pain or discomfort. A total of nine visits were required, including the screening visit and visits 1 to 4 (within 7 days of the previous visit, comprising of 2 visits each: before and after work).…”

The Correlation of Frequency of Work-Related Disorders with Type of Work among Polish Employees

“…Heavy legs was a common symptom in manual and standing workers participating in our study. Very few publications address the association between this symptom and occupational activity, despite the fact that working conditions such as prolonged standing promote venous disorders [ 55 ]. The problem of prolonged standing also affects manual workers as proven by a 2019 study on the relationship between static standing time at work and the intensity of pain in the lower extremities [ 56 ].…”

Intermittent Pneumatic Compression in Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine: Review

“…При статичних навантаженнях ППК краще, ніж пасивний відпочинок, зменшує біль у нижніх кінцівках [17]. Існує розбіжність щодо того, чи впливає ППК на біль, викликаний спортивними навантаженнями.…”