Acceso usuarios
María Ángeles Ruiz Arzoz
The purpose of this descriptive-comparative study, is to assess conservative physiotherapy treatment of secondary lymphedema of the upper limb. The treatment methods assessed are manual lymphatic drainage, pressure therapy and a combination of both. The study has been carried out on a group of 34 patients who developed a lymphedema as a result of surgical treatment of the breast. The size of the lymphedema was estimated by measuring the difference in centimetres between the perimeter of both healthy and affected arms at seven different points. Assessment has been done before and after treatment as well as a year after treatment had finished. The measurements in centimetres before and after treatment differed significantly (p < 0,001). The variation in centimetres one year after treatment is of the same rank as was achieved at the end of treatment (p < 0,001), which indicates that reduction is maintained. For a successful treatment of lymphedema good patient participation in essential.
