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Physiotherapists 'can help reduce swelling after breast cancer operations'

Thursday 14th January 2010

Women who see a physiotherapist after having breast cancer surgery may be more likely to experience reduce swelling, according to new research.

Funded by the Spanish Health Ministry, the report revealed that a swelling caused by amputation of lymph glands, known as lymphoedema, affected 25 per cent of people after an operation.

However, only seven per cent of physiotherapy patients who visited a doctor three times a week for three weeks after breast cancer surgery developed the swelling, the study, which is published in the British Medical Journal, explained.

The Guardian said of the study: "Not everyone who has breast cancer surgery gets this problem and those who do tend to get it six months to 12 months after surgery. So if you've had surgery more than a year ago and haven't had this problem, it may not affect you at all."

Breast cancer is becoming an increasing problem for the UK, with incidence rates rising 50 per cent in the last 25 years and 125 women being diagnosed every day.

Written by Megan Smith