Sign in. Editorial Policies. Send email. Copy url:. Anna Opuchlik. MaΕgorzata Biskup. Anna WΕoch. Magdalena LipiΕska-StaΕczak. Anna LipiΕska. PlumX metrics:. Introduction Lymphoedema is a serious health, psychosocial and economic problem among patients treated for malignant tumours. The removal of regional lymph nodes β lymphadenectomy β is an integral part of the surgical treatment of malignant tumours of breasts, genitals, prostate, skin cancer, salivary glands cancer and many others.
Their absence causes failure of the lymphatic system, which is characterised by difficult flow of lymph with its simultaneous accumulation in the subcutaneous tissue, the image of which is secondary lymphoedema [1]. The causes of this complication also include the used complementary therapy radiotherapy , injuries and overload of limbs, previous inflammation and obesity [2, 3].
Untreated lymphoedema leads to intensification of its symptoms: an increase in limb volume, restrictions on the range of joint mobility, occurrence of their deformation and frequent inflammation, which results in deterioration of the functional status of patients. Because the disease is of a chronic nature, a non-invasive therapy system has been developed, which has a calming effect on its symptoms, but it requires good cooperation between the physiotherapist and the patient, as well as the use of financial resources.
It is noted that it is possible to maintain long-term effects of the treatment only in the group of patients following the methodological assumptions of the physiotherapeutic complex management [4, 5]. Methods of physiotherapeutic management The largest group of patients with lymphoedema undergoing physiotherapy procedures in the Department of Rehabilitation in the Hollycross Cancer Centre HCC are patients after radical treatment of breast cancer.
In phase I of the treatment decongestive the mentioned techniques are used daily for a period of time dependent on the degree of swelling advancement in order to cause a reduction of fluid and proteins in the intratissue space, which causes a significant reduction in the size of the swollen limb. In phase II fixing-optimizing the effect obtained earlier is sustained through the use of self-massage, decongestive gymnastics and compression therapy Figure 2 in the form of elastic compression materials worn by the patient [6].
