Antiedematous Effect Promoted by Occlusion of Legs with Compressive Socks Containing Infrared-Emitting Ceramic Particulates.

Background: Published literature reports significant improvements in pathological conditions, such as pain, blood dyscrasias, and cellulite, after using topical occlusive accessories containing particulate ceramic materials. Objective: In this study, we investigated whether the use of a topical occluding garment made with synthetic fibers embedded with powdered ceramic materials could be beneficial to patients suffering from edema of lower limb extremities. Materials and methods: The cohort comprised 30 volunteers of both genders who were divided into two study groups. The bioceramic (BC) group wore compressive socks made of fabrics with embedded ceramic powder for 8 h a day for 28 days. The placebo group wore compressive socks of the same material without ceramic powder. The efficacy of the treatment was quantified through weekly plethysmographic measurements. In addition, pain relief was evaluated through a visual analog scale (VAS). Results: Data showed a statistically significant reduction in the edema volume for the BC group compared with the placebo group: 78.9 ± 10.7 mL versus 41.3 ± 5.6 mL, p  = 0.003. Further, there was also greater pain relief for the BC group when compared with the placebo group, with a pain decrease of 7.0 ± 0.2 U versus 3.3 ± 0.2 U, respectively, on the VAS from 0 to 10 ( p  = 0.024). Conclusions: The topical occlusive therapy with compressive socks containing infrared-emitting ceramic particulate in its fabrics showed that they were more beneficial than the placebo garment in the treatment of edema of the inferior member extremities as well as in relief of associated pain.