Abstract

In 2005 there were about 15 000 operations carried out in Thoracosurgery Units in Poland. The majority of these involved lobectomy due to structural changes resulting from cancer. It is worth mentioning that the majority of patients were operated on during their first or second stages of the disease, which shows improvement in methods used for diagnostic purposes qualifying for surgical operations. However, the patients treated in the third stage of their disease might reach even 40%. Application of physiotherapy in these patients is a complex problem due to the disease, their overall condition and post-operative complications. The treatment aims at improving the efficiency, strengthening the respiration mechanism, increasing thoracic flexibility and pain relief – which finally leads to improvement of the patient’s well-being. In case of possible lymphatic swelling, drainage and antiedema treatment are also very important. In case of the patients, who underwent surgery, not connected with cancer, physical treatment and massage are valuable complementation to kinesitherapy, which is the basis of physiotherapeutic treatment. They are mainly used in order to stabilize the muscle tone, decrease swelling and pain perception. However, because of the main disease, they could not be applied in most of patients. Under limited possibility of using physiotherapeutic treatment, kinesiotaping (KT) is a safe method stimulating post—operative scar healing, improving muscle activity and helping to decrease swelling and pain.

Key words:

kinesiotaping, physiotherapy, thoracosurgery