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Raised leg exercises for leg edema in the elderly
J O Ciocon1, D Galindo-Ciocon, D J Galindo
1Department of Internal Medicine/Geriatrics, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Fort Lauderdale.
Angiology
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Leg edema in the elderly often stems from venous stasis, medication side effects, or heart failure. While raised-leg exercises showed no significant difference from standard care in reducing edema, further research is needed.
Area of Science:
- Geriatrics
- Vascular Medicine
- Clinical Research
Background:
- Leg edema is a prevalent condition among the elderly population.
- Effective management strategies for leg edema require thorough evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the common causes of leg edema in elderly patients.
- To evaluate the efficacy of a raised-leg exercise regimen in managing leg edema.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 245 elderly patients with leg edema was studied.
- Patients were divided into an exercise group (n=188) and a non-exercise comparison group (n=57).
- Diagnostic workup included history, physical examination, blood tests, ECG, chest X-ray, and imaging; leg circumference was measured over four weeks.
Main Results:
- The primary causes of leg edema were venous stasis (63.2%), drug-induced (13.8%), and heart failure (15.1%).
- Both exercise and non-exercise groups demonstrated significant reductions in leg edema circumference (P < .001).
- Lymphedema was an exception, showing no significant decrease in edema measurement.
Conclusions:
- Venous stasis, drug-induced edema, and heart failure are the most common causes of leg edema in the elderly.
- The study found no significant difference in leg edema reduction between the raised-leg exercise group and the non-exercise group.
- Further investigation is warranted to determine optimal management for elderly patients with leg edema.