Immediate effects of electrical stimulation, diathermy, and physical exercise on lower limb arterial blood flow in diabetic women with peripheral arterial disease: a randomized crossover trial.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of high-voltage electrical stimulation (HVES), continuous short wave diathermy, and physical exercise on arterial blood flow in the lower limbs of diabetic women with peripheral arterial disease.


METHODS
A crossover study was carried out involving 15 diabetic women (mean age of 77.87 ± 6.20 years) with a diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease. One session of each therapeutic resource was held, with a 7-day washout period between protocols. Blood flow velocity was evaluated before each session and 0, 20, 40 and 60 minutes after the administration of each protocol. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc test was used for the intragroup and intergroup comparisons.


RESULTS
In the intragroup analysis, a significant reduction (P < .05) was found in blood flow velocity in the femoral and popliteal arteries over time with HVES and physical exercise and in the posterior tibial artery with the physical exercise protocol. However, no significant differences were found in the intergroup analysis (P > .05).


CONCLUSION
Proximal blood circulation in the lower limb of diabetic women with peripheral arterial disease was increased by a single session of HVES and physical exercise, whereas distal circulation was only increased with physical exercise.
['Guirro|Elaine Caldeira de Oliveira|EC|', 'Guirro|Rinaldo Roberto de Jesus|RR|', 'Dibai-Filho|Almir Vieira|AV|', 'Pascote|Siane Cristina Santarosa|SC|', 'Rodrigues-Bigaton|Delaine|D|']
D000368:Aged D001783:Blood Flow Velocity D003131:Combined Modality Therapy D018592:Cross-Over Studies D003925:Diabetic Angiopathies D003972:Diathermy D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy D005081:Exercise Therapy D005260:Female D006801:Humans D035002:Lower Extremity D008297:Male D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease D016037:Single-Blind Method D013997:Time Factors D016896:Treatment Outcome
Diabetes Mellitus Electrical Stimulation Therapy Hyperthermia Induced Short-Wave Therapy