Overview
Edema measurement can be performed using various different techniques which will be discussed below
Measuring edema overtime throughout the course of a patient's care can be important for the following reasons:
Monitor healing and response to treatment, as a decrease in swelling can indicate progress in the condition
Can help determine if edema management techniques need to be focused on more
Prevent complications associated with prolonged edema (which are written below)
What is Edema?
An abnormal accumulation of fluid in the tissues that causes swelling
Can result from injury, surgery, inflammation, or poor circulation
Is often a natural, protective reaction from the body
Damage to a body part results in increased blood flow and fluid leaks from the blood vessels into the surrounding tissues
Delivers immune cells to the area
If edema persists, it can impact:
Range of motion
Soft tissue mobility
Quality of scar tissue formation
Function
Strength
Recovery time
Edema Measurement Techniques
Figure-of-eight:
Has best evidence overall for reliability, validity, and measurement error compared to gold standard (water volumeter)
Involves using a tape measurer and wrapping it around the hand in a specific path (that is like a figure 8)
It measures the overall swelling of the hand as it includes both the dorsal and palmar surfaces
The measurement starts at the ulnar styloid and then goes across on the palmar surface and then back up again to the dorsal surface on the radial styloid
Then it is wrapped across the dorsal surface of the hand to the 5th MCP where it then goes around to the palmar surface
Lastly, it is then wrapped across the palmar surface of the hand to the 2nd MCP joint where it is then wrapped back around to the dorsal surface of the hand and connects back to the starting point at the ulnar styloid
Hand and finger circumference:
Also has good reliability, validity, and measurement error
Involves simply using a tape measurer and wrapping it around a body part
Common sites of measurement are the wrist flexion crease and various parts of the affected digit(s), such as P1, PIP, P2, DIP, or P3
Recommended Videos - on figure-of-eight and circumferential measurements:
References
Llanos, C., Gan, E. Y., Chen, J., Lee, M.-J., Kilbreath, S. L., & Dylke, E. S. (2021). Reliability and validity of physical tools and measurement methods to quantify hand swelling: A systematic review. Physical Therapy, 101(2), pzaa206. https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzaa206