Abstract
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) was studied from the point of impediment and rehabilitation approach. Thirty-one patients diagnosed with NHL, who were referred to the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at a university hospital. The patients could be classified into three types according to impediment: Twenty with disuse muscle atrophy, five with peripheral neuropathy, and six with spinal cord injury. The patients with disuse atrophy had been bed-ridden for three months before rehabilitation started, but at the end of the rehabilitation course, all of them could walk unaided inside the hospital. The patients with peripheral neuropathy showed foot drop and sensory disturbance because tumor cells invaded their peripheral nerves. Ankle-foot orthosis was very effective for this group and enabled the patients in this group to walk unassisted inside the hospital. The patients with paraplegia showed muscle clonus and atrophy in their legs because tumor cells had invaded the vertebral bodies. Following rehabilitation, all these patients could walk in their ward with the aid of a walker. We conclude that NHL can be classified into 3 types according to the type of impediment and requires a rehabilitation approach based on the classification.
