UPDATE OF PHYSIOTHERAPY TREATMENT FOR LYMPHEDEMA: SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Abstract

Introduction: there are currently discrepancies about when to use conservative treatment in lymphoedema and many health professionals doubt about its efficacy, proposing other therapeutic options such as invasive interventions, casting doubt on whether complex decongestive therapy is the only possibility for conservative treatment of lymphoedema. Objective: to identify the degree of usefulness and efficacy of Physiotherapy treatment in lymphedema. Material and method: a search was carried out in February 2021 of articles published in the last 5 years in the PubMed, Medline and Cinahl databases, using the descriptors "Physical Therapy Modalities", "Physical Therapy" and "Lymphedema". Results: a total of 46 articles were obtained, of which 17 met the selection criteria and were valid for analysis. The scientific evidence reviewed reaffirmed the efficacy of treatments based on techniques included in complex decongestive therapy, such as manual lymphatic drainage, pressure therapy and compression stockings, but also of other techniques such as hydrotherapy, kinesitherapy or therapeutic exercise and even modifications of complex decongestive therapy. Conclusion: Physiotherapy is beneficial for the treatment of lymphedema, but we cannot establish which technique is the most beneficial since there is heterogeneity in the therapies used by the different studies.