Aquatic therapy for patients with venous insufficiency was trialed in a randomized controlled manner in the ATLANTIS trial. A total of 201 patients were randomized to receive aquatic therapy or no therapy at all.
Objective measurements of venous disease severity and quality of life were compared for those getting aquatic therapy and those not getting aquatic therapy at baseline, 3 months and 24 months after institution of thera[y.
The study was done by Dr Mohsen Sharifi and colleagues demonstrated that "the addition of aquatic therapy to patients with chronic venous insufficiency is safe, efective and leads to significant improvement in clinical status and quality of life measures.
The study was published in the J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord 2020: October 28.
Dr Karamanoukian's note: Just standing chest high in water provides 70-80 mm Hg pressure at the level of the ankles, effectively similar to wearing 3 pairs of 20-30 mm Hg compression stockings. If you do some walking in the water, swelling relief is increased further.