[Chronic venous insufficiency--from pathophysiology to therapy. 3: Physical therapy of venous diseases]

In patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), stage-oriented physiotherapy can be employed in addition to surgery, drug treatment and sclerotherapy, with both prophylactic and curative intent. Apart from improving the hemodynamic situation, physiotherapy aims in particular to preserve or reactivate the active and passive pump mechanisms of the lower limbs, for example, the calf muscle pump and the ankle pump. Consequently the wide spectrum of physiotherapeutic measures includes such measures as compression therapy, anticongestion positioning, massage and exercise, all of which can be supplemented or replaced, as didacted by the condition prevailing, by hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, balneotherapy or climatic therapy.