PURPOSE/RATIONALE: To examine the standing Heel-Rise Test in its relation to chronic venous disorders (CVD), balance, gait and walking time in persons with a history of illicit drug use. The Heel-Rise Test is a measure of calf muscle pump function and the muscle force that is needed to walk and climb stairs. METHODOLOGY: The study used a correlational design with test-retest for reliability assessment. One hundred four persons, age 30-60 years, from a methadone maintenance treatment center were assessed using the same protocol on two occasions a mean of 45.9 days apart. Of these, 88 used injected drugs and 16 used non-injection drugs only. The instruments included the clinical portion of the Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology (CEAP) tool for CVD, the Heel-Rise Test, and the Tinetti Balance, Gait and Walking Time Tests. RESULTS: The mean number of full heel rises for the right and left legs ranged from 4.14 - 4.64. Over a third of participants could not perform one full heel rise. The test-retest reliability for full heel rises was .68 for the right leg and .66 for the left. The Heel-Rise Test scores were negatively associated with the Balance and Gait scores and with longer Walking Time demonstrating good construct validity. Participants with more advanced CVD performed significantly fewer heel rises, had lower Balance and Gait scores, and longer Walking Times. Credit for partial heel rises did not substantially increase scores or change any relations. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates disturbed Heel-Rise, Balance, Gait and Walking Time with advanced CVD in persons in methadone treatment. Reliability and validity of the Heel-Rise Test were assessed to be acceptable. The Heel-Rise Test as a measure of calf muscle pump function is supported by these results.