Ankle exercise and venous blood velocity

Paul D. Stein; Abdo Y. Yaekoub; Syed T. Ahsan; Fadi Matta; Monisha M. Lala; Bakhtiar Mirza; Aaref Badshah; Mahmud Zamlut; Dennis J. Malloy; James E. Denier

doi:10.1160/TH08-09-0615

Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Table of Contents

Thromb Haemost 2009; 101(06): 1100-1103
DOI: 10.1160/TH08-09-0615

Blood Coagulation, Fibrinolysis and Cellular Haemostasis

Schattauer GmbH

Ankle exercise and venous blood velocity

Paul D. Stein

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

²Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA

,

Abdo Y. Yaekoub

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Syed T. Ahsan

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Fadi Matta

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Monisha M. Lala

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Bakhtiar Mirza

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Aaref Badshah

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Mahmud Zamlut

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

,

Dennis J. Malloy

³Veterans Administration Hospital, Saginaw, Michigan, USA

,

James E. Denier

¹St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac, Michigan, USA

› Author Affiliations

Abstract

Summary

Ankle exercise increases venous blood velocity while supine, but the effect of ankle exercise on venous blood velocity while sitting is not known. In this investigation, we test the hypothesis that venous blood velocity can be increased while sitting by repetitive dorsiflexion of the foot. Time-averaged peak velocity (TAPV) in the popliteal vein of 20 healthy male volunteers was measured by pulsed Doppler ultrasound at rest and during ankle exercise in the supine and sitting positions. Right popliteal vein TAPV while supine at rest was 11 cm/second (sec) (95% confidence interval [CI] =9–13 cm/sec) and with ankle exercise it increased to 24 cm/sec (95% CI =20–28 cm/sec) (p<0.0001). With sitting at rest, right popliteal vein blood TAPV decreased from 11 cm/sec to 3 cm/sec (95% CI = 2–4 cm/sec) (p<0.0001). With ankle exercise while sitting, right popliteal vein TAPV increased to 18 cm/sec (95% CI =15–21 cm/sec) (p<0.0001). In conclusion, in both the supine and sitting positions, ankle exercise increased venous blood velocity, thereby transiently reducing a tendency toward venous stasis. Such ankle exercise might be useful in the prevention of stasis-induced deep venous thrombosis.

Keywords

Venous blood velocity - ankle exercise - economy class syndrome - deep venous thrombosis - popliteal vein - pulmonary embolism

Full Text

References

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