Does the heel-rise test explain functional capacity in venous insufficiency?

Introduction Individuals with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) have muscle pump dysfunction and reduced functionality. However, studies are inconsistent in proving whether a particular test can assess muscle functional capacity. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate whether the heel-rise test (HRT) is able to explain functional capacity in patients with CVI. Materials and methods Subjects with CVI aged between 20 and 59 years old were selected for this study. All participants were classified by means of the Clinical Anatomy Etiology Pathophysiology Classification of Chronic Venous Disease (CEAP). The HRT and the shuttle walk test (SWT) were performed. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation, linear models and regression variance analysis (one-way ANOVA) were used for data analysis. Significance was set at alpha ≤ 5%. Results 79 subjects were included in the study (38.79 ± 1.34 years). The HRT was able to explain functional capacity only in individuals aged between 50-59 years (R2 = 0.60, p = 0.0001). The heel-rise test was not sensitive to detect differences between the CEAP classes analyzed (p > 0.05). Conclusion The HRT was able to explain functional capacity in individuals aged between 50-59 years, and it can be applied in clinical practice for the functional evaluation of patients with CVI with mild severity in this age range.

引言 慢性静脉功能不全（chronic venous insufficiency, CVI）患者存在肌肉泵功能障碍及功能容量下降。然而，现有研究在验证特定检测手段能否评估肌肉功能容量方面结论并不一致。因此，本研究旨在评估足跟抬起试验（heel-rise test, HRT）是否能够阐释慢性静脉功能不全患者的功能容量。
材料与方法 本研究纳入20至59岁的慢性静脉功能不全患者作为研究对象。所有受试者均采用慢性静脉疾病临床-解剖-病因-病理生理分类系统（Clinical Anatomy Etiology Pathophysiology Classification of Chronic Venous Disease, CEAP）进行分级。所有参与者均接受了足跟抬起试验（HRT）及穿梭步行试验（shuttle walk test, SWT）。数据分析采用描述性统计、斯皮尔曼相关性分析、线性模型及单因素方差分析（one-way ANOVA），检验水准设定为α≤5%。
结果 本研究共纳入79名受试者，年龄为38.79±1.34岁。仅在50至59岁年龄段的受试者中，足跟抬起试验能够解释其功能容量（R²=0.60，p=0.0001）。足跟抬起试验无法有效区分所分析的CEAP分级之间的差异（p>0.05）。
结论 足跟抬起试验能够解释50至59岁年龄段慢性静脉功能不全患者的功能容量，可应用于该年龄段轻度慢性静脉功能不全患者的临床功能评估。