Ricerc@Sapienza

Objectives
Hydrostatic compression (HC) occurring during body immersion is considered beneficial for venous return from the lower limbs. No study has evaluated the effects of HC on the veins of the lower limbs using duplex ultrasound (DU). The purpose of this study was to use DU to evaluate the morphology and flow of the leg veins during immersion.

Design
The femoral and great saphenous veins were evaluated before and during immersion in a specifically built pool, in normal and varicose limbs.

Abstract
Background: Balneotherapy has been considered beneficial in patients with chronic venous disease due to patientreported positive outcomes on improvement of symptoms and quality of life.
Study aim: Assessing the effects of prolonged water immersion (WI) on leg edema and epifascial thickness and to
compare these data with those achieved after continuous walking on ground.
Material and methods: On three consecutive days, 14 otherwise healthy volunteers (9 females, 5 males, mean age 53