Lymphedema, Lower Limb
Conditions
Brief summary
Chronic lymphedema is defined as swelling or edema (excess fluid in the interstitial space) that does not fully resolve overnight by elevating the limb or body part to the level of the heart. Chronic lymphedema is a major clinical problem that is difficult to treat. Osteopathic Pedal Pump is a simple manipulation technique anecdotally thought to reduce leg edema and chronic lymphedema. However, the clinical evidence is only anecdotal and no clinical trials have ever been conducted to test this observation. The purpose of the research is to measure the effectiveness of the Osteopathic Pedal Pump technique for treating lymphedema by measuring before and after treatment limb volumes. The second purpose of this project is to mentor osteopathic medical students in clinical research. There is also a great need to mentor Osteopathic Medical Students because relatively few pursue careers involving clinical research and the benefits osteopathic manipulative treatment remain under investigated.
Interventions
OTHEROsteopathic manipulative medicine pedal pump
In this 7 minute intervention, the patient receives 2 minutes of myofascial release of the thoracic inlet and then 5 minutes of the pedal pump technique
Sponsors
Rowan University
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* For phase one subjects must be age 18 or older, be a medical students at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine and not have leg edema which does not resolve with overnight limb elevation. For phase two subjects must be patients at the NJISA in Stratford, NJ age 55 and over and have lower limb lymphedema. Lymphedema is defined as edema that does not resolve with overnight elevation of the lower limb.
Exclusion criteria
*
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in lower limb volume | Baseline and 1-minute after receiving pedal pump protocol | Patient's lower limb volume measured via volumetric edema gauge |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed