Why the study?
Does electrical calf muscle stimulation compared to the venous foot pump alter popliteal blood flow patterns in volunteers?
Does electrical calf muscle stimulation compared to the venous foot pump alter popliteal blood flow patterns in volunteers?
Electrical calf muscle stimulation and venous foot pump produce similar increases in popliteal blood flow velocity, but the foot pump may not effectively empty the soleal venous sinuses.
Venous foot pump may inadequately empty soleal sinuses versus calf stimulation; leaves open optimal mechanical prophylaxis in clinical practice.
The pattern of popliteal blood flow following electrical calf muscle stimulation and activation of the venous foot pump were studied using duplex ultrasound scanning in volunteers. The increase in velocity was of a similar magnitude for both methods, but the pattern was different, suggesting that the venous foot pump may not empty the soleal venous sinuses. Dynamic venography confirmed this hypothesis.
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Laverick et al. (1990) studied this question.
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