Cancer Treatment Today » Physical Therapy in Cancer http://cancertreatmenttoday.org Knowledge is Power Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:39:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 The Role of Physical Therapy in Musculor Dystrophies http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/the-role-of-physical-therapy-in-musculor-dystrophies/ http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/the-role-of-physical-therapy-in-musculor-dystrophies/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:18:25 +0000 M Levin, MD http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/?p=4691 Muscular dystrophy (MD)is a group of genetic diseases that affect muscle function. There are more than 30 genetic mutations that can cause muscular dystrophy.  Based on the clinical features, including inheritance pattern, muscles affected, and muscle biopsy features,  dystriophis are dvivided into: Duchenne, Becker, Myotonic dystrophy, Facioscapulohumeral, Limb-girdle, Ocullopharyngeal, Congenital and Distal.

Physical therapy, especially regular stretching, is important in helping to maintain the range of motion(ROM) for affected muscles and to prevent or delay contractures. Strengthening less affected muscles to compensate for weakness in the more affected muscles may improve the patient’s ability to engage in activities of daily living(ADL), especially in earlier stages of milder MD. Regular exercise is important in maintaining good  overall health, but strenuous exercise should be avoided because it can damage muscles. Age of the patient and degree of dysfunction are not determining criteria of employing physical therapy, as long as an improvement in ROM and ADL can be expected.

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]]> http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/the-role-of-physical-therapy-in-musculor-dystrophies/feed/ 0 Pneumatic Pumps for Lymphedema http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/pneumatic-pumps-for-lymphedema/ http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/pneumatic-pumps-for-lymphedema/#comments Thu, 09 Aug 2012 18:28:26 +0000 M Levin, MD http://cancertreatmenttoday.org/?p=4416 Although pneumatic pumps have been used for many years to treat lymphedema, studies have conflicted on their effectiveness. For example, the 2009 McMaster University Evidence-based Practice Centre (building on an earlier study in 1998 by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Technology Evaluation Center) comparing the efficacy of different types of pneumatic extremity pumps found there was ” insufficient evidence to permit conclusions regarding whether the efficacy of lymphedema pumps varied across pump type.” More recent studies suggest that they can be useful in treating lymphedema, chronic venous stasis ulcers/associated venous insufficiency (Cervantes, 2010), (Adams, 2010).  Medicare wrote: “Our current policy covers the use of pneumatic compression pumps for patients with refractory edema from chronic venous insufficiency with significant ulceration of the lower extremities that have received standard therapy but have failed to heal after 6 months of continuous treatment. After review of all available published literature, we have found sufficient evidence to show that standard care for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency, which results in ulceration, can be successfully treated by elevation, exercise and compression therapy.” However, this coverage decision is not specific to Pneumatic Pumps and is not binding on other entities and many insurers are not covering this service, insisting on manual massage, or on leasing rather than purchasing a pump.

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