Impairments in ankle range of motion, dorsi and plantar flexors muscle strength and gait speed in patients with chronic venous disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To verify the differences in ankle range of motion (ROM), muscle strength of dorsi and plantar flexors, and gait speed among healthy subjects, and patients with chronic venous disorders (CVD) with and without venous leg ulcer.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis (http://osf.io/b7n3k) were conducted following a search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, LILACS, Scopus, and EMBASE databases.

Results: Eight papers were included. The ankle ROM was significantly lower both in dorsiflexion and plantar flexion in patients with venous leg ulcer when compared to healthy individuals and CVD patients without venous leg ulcer. The muscle strength of the plantar flexors and gait speed were reduced in CVD patients when compared to healthy ones.

Conclusion: Impaired muscle strength and gait speed can be detected in CVD patients compared to healthy individuals, and ankle ROM tends to be reduced in CVD patients even in the absence of venous leg ulcers.