1. FOR THE ORIGINAL PAPER (IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE) SEND A N E-MAIL AT info@physiomed.de Page 1 of 1 This article should be cited as follows: J AHR , S., S CHOPPE , B. AND A. R EIßHAUER . Effect of treatment with low-intensity and extremel y low-frequency electrostatic fields (Deep Oscillatio n ® ) on breast tissue and pain in patients with secondary breast lymphoedema. J Rehabil Med 40 :645-650 (2008). Institution: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Dept. of Phys ical Medicine, Charité Campus Mitte, Berlin, German y Abstract BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE To investigate symptoms and functional impairment i n women with secondary lymphoedema of the breast following surgical treatment and to assess t he therapeutic benefit of treatment with low- intensity and extremely low-frequency electrostatic fields (Deep Oscillation ® ), supplementing manual lymphatic drainage. METHODS Twenty-one patients were randomized either to the t reatment group (n=11): 12 sessions of manual lymphatic drainage supplemented by Deep Oscillation ® , or to the control group (n=10): manual lymphatic drainage alone. Assessment included subje ctive pain and swelling evaluation, range of motion of the shoulder and the cervical spine, and analysis of breast volume using a 3D measuring system. RESULTS Patients had high pain and swelling scores at basel ine. Shoulder mobility was impaired in all patients ; restriction of cervical spine mobility was common a t baseline and declined further in the control group. Deep Oscillation ® resulted in significant pain reduction in the trea tment group. The subjective reported reduction of swelling in both groups was c onfirmed objectively by 3D measurement only in the treatment group. CONCLUSION Additional Deep Oscillation ® supplementary to manual lymphatic drainage can sig nificantly enhance pain alleviation and swelling reduction in patients with secondary breast lymphoedema compared with manual lymphatic drainage alone. Key words breast cancer – deep oscillation therapy – lymphati c drainage – pain – swelling. Literatur e