ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

Acta Phlebologica 2019 December;20(3):84-9

DOI: 10.23736/S1593-232X.20.00455-5

Copyright © 2020 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

Connective tissue, edema and pain: a micro-compressive vibration approach

Giovanni BARASSI ¹ ✉, Piera A. DI FELICE ¹, Alì YOUNES ², Vito GUGLIELMI ², Loris PROSPERI ², Marco SUPPLIZI ¹, Matteo CRUDELI ², Antonella DI IULIO ², Franco DELLA ROVERE ²

¹ Department of Medical and Oral Science and Biotechnologies, Gabriele d’Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; ² Academic Center of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Gabriele d’Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy

BACKGROUND: Nowadays, the understanding of the functions of the macro- and micro-anatomy of connective tissue has been revised. The symptomatology of edema could be considered as a pathological manifestation of connective tissue (CT). For these reasons, the aim of this study is to demonstrate the correlation between edema symptomatology and the development of pain. Twenty-two female subjects with a CEAP score between 1 and 3 were recruited to take part in a rehabilitative protocol focused on edema treatment, studying both its reduction and its relationship with pain.
METHODS: Patients were subjected to micro-compressive vibration treatment consisting of six sessions, twice a week, for 3 weeks. They were evaluated with a Fischer algometer and the visual analogical scale-VAS to identify variations in their pain perception. Piriformis, vastus lateralis, gastrosoleus and quadratus plantae muscles were selected for the evaluation.
RESULTS: Results demonstrated that the perception threshold improved in the piriformis muscle R=27.5%, in vastus lateralis R=47.1%, in gastrosoleus L=26.16% and in quadratus plantae R=10.6% L=38.06%. A mean percentage reduction of 17.6% was highlighted at VAS analysis.
CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the development of edema and pain symptomatology could be hypothesized and that a specific treatment on CT could reduce this condition.

KEY WORDS: Edema; Connective tissue; Vibration; Rehabilitation; Blood vessels