Physiotherapy Treatment for Patients Suffering From Head and Neck Cancer

In Denmark there are about 1000 new cases of head and neck cancer every year. The number is increasing. The treatment for head and neck cancer is either surgery or radiotherapy treatment or a combination of these modalities. Radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer often causes severe late term side effects. Radiotherapy induced damage of the skin, lymphatic system, cartilage and bone often leads to symptoms such as trismus, lymphoedema, decreased range of motion of the mouth, neck and tongue, difficulty in using the mimic muscles, difficulty in swallowing and pain. The severity of late side effects due to radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer often leaves the patients with a poor quality of life rating. Effects of physiotherapy interventions are scarcely investigated. Only few studies describe the effect of physiotherapy treatment. The studies are difficult to compare because of insufficiently described physiotherapy intervention, or variation of onset and extent of physiotherapy intervention plus variation in study populations. No studies have described the long term effects of physiotherapy intervention. There is no national or international consensus for the physiotherapy treatment for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer. Primary hypothesis: Decreased mouth opening in patients suffering from c.cavi oris and c.oropharynges undergoing radiotherapy treatment, can be reduced by an early physiotherapy effort compared with the present circumstances. Secondary hypothesis: The extent of late side effects from radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer can be reduced by an early and individually adjusted physiotherapy treatment. Guided physiotherapy training/treatment can have a positive effect on patients self estimated symptom extent and health related quality af life. The hypothesis of this study is built on studies of literature and clinical experience from treatment of late side effects on patients suffering from breast cancer and uterus cancer, who also suffer from lymphoedema and fibrosis due to radiotherapy.