Desenvolvimento e aplicação de um protocolo fisioterapêutico para lipodistrofia abdominal feminina por meio de técnicas eletrotermoterapêuticas

Abstract

In Brazil the complications of these illnesses are responsible for 72% of the deaths. Overweight combined with not only the high costs of health service provided by the government, but also with the high risk of secondary diseases, can cause localized lipodystrophy which has few alternatives for treatment, being surgical treatment the most common. Few studies show the usage of adjunctive therapy in order to reduce localized lipodystrophy and still they have greater restriction in specific research aiming at the treatment of localized abdominal lipodystrophy. The objective of this study was to verify the results of a non-invasive therapy in a specific area more predisposed to fat accumulation – the abdomen. A longitudinal study was performed, using a quantitative-descriptive research composed of 33 women with abdominal fat accumulation, with an age range of 20 to 35 years old. All of them signed an informed consent term (TCLE) and the sample was divided in two groups: A, which held ten physiotherapy sessions according to the physiotherapy protocol and B, which held five physiotherapy sessions, followed by a pause, and then held other five sessions according to the protocol. All the volunteers answered a questionnaire and went through their first body evaluation, which was repeated after the fifth and tenth session according to the physiotherapy protocol. They also underwent a Dual-Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) test, repeated in the beginning and in the end of the sessions, which consisted of an application of a protocol, in the abdomen, developed based on the association of two physiotherapy techniques: 3-MHz ultrasound and medium-frequency alternating current. Initially, the general sample data was analyzed, followed by the comparative analysis between groups A and B. A Shapiro- Wilk test was performed to check the normality of the distribution and ANOVA Friedman was used to compare the data. The results for the variables analyzed in general sample were: mass, waist measurement, umbilical scar measurement, narrowest abdominal circumference measurement, widest abdominal circumference measurement and midsection fat percentage p<0,001, evaluated by DXA, showing a considerable difference if compared from the initial evaluation to the final. The percentage of total body fat evaluated by DXA was p=0,779 demonstrating reduction with a variation of 0,1% to 2,7% among all the volunteers. Comparing groups A and B, homogeneity could be observed and there was no statistic difference between them. Therefore, this protocol was developed specifically for the treatment of abdominal lipodystrophy in women and during the present study it demonstrated to be efficient for the treatment of reduction for this type of adiposity in young women.