Treatment of peripheral lymphedema by concomitant application of magnetic fields, vibration and hyperthermia: a preliminary report.

Although treatment of peripheral lymphedema has included magnetic fields, vibration, and hyperthermia individually, no one has administered all three at the same time. Accordingly, ten patients with unilateral leg secondary lymphedema were treated using daily therapy for 20 days with each modality for a duration of 60 minutes for a total of 3 hours. The clinical response was evaluated by the coefficient rate of contraction, i.e., by measuring the circumference of the leg 10 cm above and below the patella edge before and after therapy. This preliminary uncontrolled trial resulted in 8 highly effective, 1 improved, and 1 unaffected outcome. In 6 of the 8 highly effective outcomes, the volume of the treated leg became nearly the same as that of the untreated, non-edematous contralateral leg. One patient developed skin erythema which subsided spontaneously several hours after therapy ended. This combined modality therapy for treatment of lymphedema should be explored further.