Feedback: Head and Neck Lymphoedema and Deep Oscillation Treatment in Clinic and at Home
"After surgery for head and neck cancer, it is common to have some swelling in your face or neck. This usually goes away within a few weeks. You are at greater risk of developing long-term swelling if: you had an operation to remove lymph nodes from your neck, you had radiotherapy after surgery." (Source: Macmillan Cancer Support)
Navigating the challenges of head and neck lymphoedema following cancer treatment can significantly impact a patient's quality of life, affecting everything from physical comfort and appearance to essential functions like speech and swallowing. While traditional methods like Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) offer benefits, emerging therapies are showing promising results in addressing this complex condition. This article, drawing on patient experiences and practitioner insights, shows the potential of deep oscillation therapy as a valuable tool in managing head and neck lymphoedema in clinic and at home with the Deep Oscillation Personal Basic.
Discover how this non-invasive treatment is making a tangible difference by:
- Achieving significant reductions in swelling, often with noticeable improvements from early sessions
- Facilitating the softening of fibrosis and scar tissue, which can be a common post-treatment complication
- Enhanced physical function and comfort, including improved jawline definition, facial symmetry, speech clarity, ease of swallowing, and increased neck mobility.
- Lymphoedema professionals have observed that this treatment, when used in conjunction with MLD, has the potential to offer faster results.
PhysioPod® UK provides a viable option for effective home management through personal deep oscillation units, empowering individuals to take an active role in their recovery and long-term well-being.
Read on to explore why deep oscillation is gaining recognition as a beneficial approach for individuals living with head and neck lymphoedema.
Feedback One (Patient Identity Withheld)
"I have been using the Physiopod Deep Oscillation Personal machine for the last 9 years and can honestly say that it has made a huge difference to my well-being and self-confidence.
At the end of 2015, I received a diagnosis of head and neck cancer. After several surgeries and 30 sessions of radiotherapy, I was cancer-free; however, the treatment left me with lymphoedema. The swelling was very prominent on my jawline and neck, which was painful, with a feeling of heaviness and tightness.
Using the Physiopod Deep Oscillation machine greatly reduces the swelling, the hardness becomes much softer, and I regain my jawline. I really don't know how I would have coped without it.
Thanks to Julie for her ongoing support; it does make a massive difference."
Feedback Two (Patient Identity Withheld)
"I am a 42-year-old emergency medicine doctor and mum of two young children. In the summer of 2020, a sore patch on my tongue was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma, and I had brutal treatment involving surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. After treatment, I wanted to get well and return to work, but I had many side effects, including facial and neck lymphoedema. The swelling was due to the combination of the removal of my lymph nodes on one side plus the radiotherapy.
As well as making me look different, the swelling affected my neck mobility, making it stiff with a decreased range of movement. It also impacted my eating and speech.
I sought treatment on the NHS but was told there wasn’t any local service for head and neck patients and was also given the impression that this was just “normal post-operative swelling” and wasn’t anything to be concerned about. In doing my own extensive research, it became apparent that lymphoedema, particularly in head and neck patients, is an area where medical knowledge falls short. In the UK, the availability of rehabilitation services is inconsistent and largely dependent on geographical location. Friends with the same diagnosis in the US received more advanced treatment and recognition.
I came across the Physiopod site and thought that deep oscillation therapy would be worth a try. Luckily, I was able to locate a qualified therapist not too far from where I live. She has many years of experience treating lymphoedema in head and neck patients and told me she’d had some great results with deep oscillation.
The treatment itself is painless and, in fact, actively relaxing. To my astonishment, I could see a visible difference in the swelling from the very first session. I started with twice-weekly treatments, and my lymphoedema improved significantly.* My jawline came back, and my facial symmetry improved. My speech became clearer, my swallowing was easier, and my neck mobility returned, meaning I could sleep on my front and swim the front crawl again!
The therapist taught me a full range of techniques, including self-massage and compression, but I will continue to visit for deep oscillation at regular intervals, as it’s made such a difference to me. I only wish it was more widely available so that others could benefit as I have."
Feedback Three (Patient Identity Withheld)
I was diagnosed with tongue cancer and had an operation on 14th March 2022 to remove the cancer with a left-side skin graft for the tongue and left-side lymph nodes removed.
Due to having the lymph nodes removed, I developed lymphoedema in my neck and cheek. I attended St. Ann’s Hospital, where they used the deep oscillation machine on my neck and cheek; their treatment was fantastic and removed the fluid from my neck, cheek, and tongue.
I decided to buy this machine in early June 2022, and I would use the lymphoedema setting twice a day, which is for 25 minutes (morning and night).
The machine gave me back my quality of life, as it helped reduce the swelling in my tongue, which enhanced my speech.
I went back to work in August 2022 and took the machine to work with me, and if I was filling up with fluid, I would use the ‘Dark Circle Under Eye' setting, which was for 8 mins.
Since January 2023, the lymphoedema has settled down a lot, and I was finding the 25-minute cycle too long. I contacted PhysioPod UK, where Mary Fickling was emailing me, to ensure that they fully understood my query, as I was requesting if the timing could be altered and also if I could have a new card with the lymphoedema cycle reduced to half.
Julie kindly phoned me and showed me how to reduce the cycle on the machine and sent me a new card, which arrived the day after.
I have now been using the new 13-minute cycle, but only in the mornings. This has totally changed my life, giving me confidence with my speech—I’m a team leader and interact with my staff on a daily basis.
Thank you, Mary and Julie, for all your advice and help.
Feedback Four ( Regina Dengler, Practitioner)
“The lady underwent transoral laser surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from her right tonsil, followed by an ear-to-ear neck dissection to remove cancerous lymph nodes in March 2014. Six weeks after the operation, she underwent daily radiotherapy, which concluded in early June. During August, her neck started to swell and became very uncomfortable and painful. She saw me in mid-September for MLD and DEEP OSCILLATION®. After the first treatment session, her tongue swelling had reduced, and she had more tongue movement, which in turn had made eating easier. She has improved further after regular, initially frequent treatment sessions.”
Feedback Five (Patient Identity Withheld)
I purchased a Deep Oscillation personal machine in January 2015. I have used the machine daily since then. Post surgery and six weeks of radiotherapy my lymph's were compromised on my face and neck. I was left with lymphoedema on my face, and the machine has been a lifesaver, literally helping to reduce swelling and giving me great relief. My lymphoedema therapist, Monica Conway, advised me to get the machine.
Feedback Six (Patient Identity Withheld)
"I am 63 years old and recently retired. After a heavy cold, I noticed a lump in my neck, which led to the diagnosis of neck cancer just over 10 years ago." I faced six months of treatment, and in modern language, my journey began.... Within weeks, my tonsils and wisdom teeth had both gone in preparation for the chemotherapy, and in late December, I was admitted for surgery.
The cheerful nurse informed us that this procedure typically takes a couple of hours, so I can only imagine what my then-partner (now wife) endured when I still hadn't reappeared some seven hours later. But ultimately, the surgery was a success, and I emerged with lymph nodes removed and fifty-odd staples holding my neck together. I was released home on Christmas Day morning as they tried to empty the hospital with an enthusiasm bordering on hysterical; to be honest, I’d had better Christmases!
The New Year brought on further procedures and treatments. I had a feeding tube fitted ready for the radiotherapy to begin and also started the chemotherapy, which, while mind-numbingly boring, gave me an opportunity to improve my Angry Bird skills!
Come April, I was given the all-clear, and although there were regular check-ups with my surgeon, I was left to my own devices in terms of further treatment. The surgery had left me with limited neck movement, a swollen chin, and nerve damage down one side of my neck and across the shoulder. I was referred to the Hospital Lymphoedema Clinic, where they tried Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD), but bless them, they had no funding for the extra training required for my complex condition, and their efforts, if anything, made things worse.
I was lucky; a colleague at work had introduced me to my now good friend Tony, who had gone through a similar cancer diagnosis and treatment some eighteen months ahead of me. He, in turn, put me in contact with Sue Oliver, a lymphoedema and MLD specialist close to me. I have been seeing Sue monthly, almost continuously since then, and some five years ago she acquired a PhysioPod machine, and this became part of our regular treatments...
At the beginning of 2021, we decided to purchase a deep oscillation personal unit to continue our daily sessions at home, and the outcome was remarkable. My range of movement has increased dramatically, the swelling around my throat has decreased, and the feeling in my neck and across my shoulder has improved.
The treatment itself is completely painless and totally relaxing. I sit on the floor in front of my wife while she massages my neck and shoulders with vinyl gloves. The lovely ladies at PhysioPod, in conjunction with my lymphoedema specialist, Sue, put together the program.
If I stay awake for the full thirty minutes of the program, it is certainly noteworthy. I don't have many regrets, but having experienced the machine for some years now, putting off the purchase of our personal unit until this year would be one of them.
Feedback Seven (Patient Identity Withheld)
"Following treatment for a cancer on my jaw, including mandiblectomy, removal of a lymph gland, fibula free flap reconstruction, chemo, and radiotherapy, I developed lymphoedema in the head and neck area, especially around the scar tissue at the operation site." I also have quite a large scar on my left lower leg from the 'donor site wound, left after bone and tissue were removed to be used in the jaw reconstruction.
Initially, I managed with "simple lymphatic drainage" techniques, but I was still experiencing swelling in my head, neck, and lower leg.
I started using the 'Deep Oscillation Personal' supplied by Physiopod UK Limited just over six months ago. Since then, I have used various programs on my neck, head, and leg, and the swelling has decreased noticeably. I am pleased with the healing of the scar on my neck, which is now barely visible, and the lower leg wound is also healing very well.
Feedback Eight (Catherine Groom, Practitioner)
“The Leeds Lymphoedema team has been using DEEP OSCILLATION® in conjunction with Manual Lymphatic Drainage for many years. Manual Lymphatic Drainage as a stand-alone treatment gives good results over time. Since introducing Deep Oscillation, we have found the results happen more quickly, especially when softening fibrosis or scar tissue.
The advantage for the practitioner is that they are still delivering a hands-on treatment, just with the addition of gloves. This enables them to feel the tissues as they work, adjusting their movements, depth of work, and frequency of oscillations to obtain optimum results for the patient. It also still enables good control of their hands in delicate and small areas.
The treatment is pleasant to receive, and we have only ever had positive feedback. The treatment of head and neck oedema can be challenging for both therapist and patient. To be able to achieve effective results more quickly is hugely positive for the patient. Additionally, it frees up clinic slots, allowing for the treatment of more patients. The use of deep oscillation has definitely improved the overall treatment opportunities we can give our patients.”
All Deep Oscillation References
View MLD DLT Practitioners on PhysioPod Therapist Map
View NHS Hospital Lymphoedema Services with Deep Oscillation Therapy
Get more information on Head and Neck Lymphoedema with self care tips
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