Physical Therapy may Promote Resolution of Lymphatic Coding in Breast Cancer Survivors

Background and Purpose: Surgical removal of axillary lymph nodes may cause lymphatic cording that has been reported to resolve in about 3 months. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the effectiveness of physical therapy as a treatment. We hypothesized that lymphatic cording resolves in less than the expected 3 months with skilled physical therapy. Subjects: Thirty-one lymphatic cording cases were identified. Methods: Information from patient records was collected describing cancer treatment, lymphatic cording, and physical therapy care. Results: The average approximate time to onset was 35.9 weeks. Shoulder abduction range of motion improved, on average, 52° in 4 weeks. The average length of physical therapy care was 10.1 ± 9.5 weeks. For those who attended physical therapy regularly, length of care was 7.3 ± 3.4 weeks. A higher frequency of therapy cancellations was strongly correlated to a longer therapy length of care. Length of care for patients undergoing concurrent cancer treatment was significantly longer (17.0 ± 14.8) compared to of those who were not (6.5 ± 3.3 weeks). Discussion: Our data suggest that physical therapy may shorten cording resolution time and that this recovery time is influenced by other factors such as attendance or concurrent care. Further research is needed. Conclusion: Physical therapy appears to shorten resolution time of lymphatic cording from the expected 3 months without therapy to 10 weeks.