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The aim of this study was to evaluate the reduction in volume of arm lymphedema secondary to breast cancer therapy utilizing an exercise facilitating device. Twenty-four women with arm lymphedema resulting from the surgical and radiotherapeutic treatment of breast cancer were randomly selected. Evaluation was made by water-displacement volumetry before and after each session. The patients were submitted to a series of active exercises using a facilitating device for four 12-minute sessions with intervals of 3 minutes between sessions in the sitting position with alignment of the spinal column. The lymphedematous arm was maintained under compression using a cotton-polyester sleeve. The active exercising device used was a mobile rotating circular device fixed table. The paired t-test was utilized for statistical analysis with an alpha error of 5% (p-value ≤ 0.05) being considered significant. The initial mean volume of the arms was 2089.9 and the final volume was 2023.0 mL with a mean loss of 66.9 mL (p-value < 0.001). In conclusion, active exercises utilizing facilitating devices can contribute to a reduction in size of lymphedematous limbs.
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