Effect of taping as treatment to reduce breast cancer lymphedema: literature review

Abstract Lymphedema is the most common complication during the postoperative period after surgery for breast cancer and can have a direct impact on daily activities. The objective of this study was to review the use of taping as an alternative/complementary treatment to reduce lymphedema. A literature review was conducted of scientific articles indexed on the PubMed, LILACS, MEDLINE, and PEDro databases and Google Scholar, and nine articles were selected. It was found that taping is a complementary therapy for reducing lymphedema, which may be used as an alternative treatment method, but cannot substitute multilayer compression therapy.

摘要：淋巴水肿（Lymphedema）是乳腺癌术后最常见的并发症，可直接影响患者的日常活动。本研究旨在评估贴扎疗法（taping）作为减轻淋巴水肿的替代/补充治疗手段的应用效果。本研究对PubMed、LILACS、MEDLINE、PEDro数据库及Google Scholar收录的学术文献开展了文献综述，最终筛选纳入9篇文献。研究结果显示，贴扎疗法可作为减轻淋巴水肿的补充治疗方式，能够作为替代治疗方案，但无法替代多层加压治疗（multilayer compression therapy）。