There is no quick fix for lymphedema.
Unfortunately, there are untested medical devices out there
promising this quick fix. We have the emphatic opinion of
"buyer beware."
For some of the
same reasons that we do not endorse the Laser or endorse or
recommend the Acuscope as any type of effective treatment of
lymphedema, we are including it here for those who have
questions about its use in lymphedema.
Again, we do not in any way endorse
this treatment.
Again, the below study was performed on
26 women, which we do not believe creates any type of evidenced
based study.
http://www.advbiomed.com/
Probably the best paper that has been
published in a peer-reviewed journal about the Acuscope and its
efficacy versus radiation-induced fibrosis is this:
Int J
Radiat Oncol Biol Phys, 2002 Sep 1;54(1):23-34. Pilot study of
impedance-controlled microcurrent therapy for managing
radiation-induced fibrosis in head-and-neck cancer patients. Lennox
AJ, Shafer JP, Hatcher M, Beil J, Funder SJ.
Fermilab Neutron Therapy Facility, Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory, PO Box 500, Mail Stop 301, Batavia,
IL 60510, USA, alennox@fnal.gov
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effectiveness of
impedance-controlled microcurrent therapy for managing treatment
sequelae in head-and-neck cancer patients.
METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between January 1998
and June 1999, 26 patients who were experiencing late effects of
radiotherapy were treated b.i.d. with impedance-controlled
microcurrent therapy for 1 week. Objective range-of-motion
measurements were made for cervical rotation, extension/flexion, and
lateral flexion before therapy, at the end of each treatment day,
and monthly for 3 months. In addition, each patient's subjective
complaints were tabulated before treatment and reevaluated at the
last follow-up visit. No additional physical therapy or electrical
stimulation was permitted during the follow-up period
RESULTS: At the end of the course of
microcurrent therapy, 92% of the 26 patients exhibited improved
cervical rotation, 85% had improved cervical extension/flexion, and
81% had improved cervical lateral flexion. Twenty-two patients
returned for the 3-month follow-up visit. Of these, 91% had
maintained a cervical rotation range of motion greater than their
pretherapy measurements. Eighty-two percent maintained improved
cervical extension/flexion and 77% maintained improved lateral
flexion. When the range-of-motion measurements were stratified by
pretreatment severity (severe, moderate, mild, or asymptomatic), the
degree of improvement directly correlated with the severity. Thus,
patients who had more severe initial symptoms experienced a higher
percentage of improvement than did those with milder symptoms. For
these patients, the cervical rotation range of motion changed from a
baseline of 59 degrees +/- 12 degrees to 83 degrees +/- 14 degrees
at 3 months; flexion/extension improved from 47 degrees +/- 10
degrees to 73 degrees +/- 13 degrees; and lateral flexion went from
31 degrees +/- 7 degrees to 48 degrees +/- 9 degrees. Some patients
also reported symptom improvement for tongue mobility, facial
asymmetry, xerostomia, cervical/facial muscle spasms, trismus, and
soft tissue tenderness. No adverse effects were observed.
CONCLUSION: Impedance-controlled
microcurrent therapy shows promise for remediation of
range-of-motion limitations arising as late effects of radiotherapy
for head-and-neck cancer. Additional studies are needed to validate
these preliminary results and to optimize the microcurrent treatment
protocol, particularly with respect to treatment schedules and
combining microcurrent therapy with physical and/or drug therapy.
