The Impact of Therapeutic Exercises on the Quality of Life and Shoulder Range of Motion in Women After a Mastectomy, an RCT

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of an educational program of therapeutic exercises on the quality of life and functional ability in wo men after a mastectomy. Sixty women undergoing a mastectomy were randomly assigned to either an intervention or control group. The intervention group received extensive pre-surgery education as well as training on therapeutic exercises. Follow-up phone calls to the intervention group were made to en sure that the exercises were being done. Both groups were visited at home at two and four weeks to obtain the outcome variables. The Breast Cancer Patient Version was used to assess quality of life, and the “Goniometer” was used to assess the range of motion of the affected shoulder. At two and four weeks after surgery, women in the intervention group had significant improvements in their shoulder range of motion:flexion,extension, andabduction were significantly different between the control and intervention group atp = 0.04 –0.00. For quality of life, physical, psychological, psychological, social, and spiritual well-being were significantly higher for the intervention group at both two and four weeks after surgery,p< 0.001. In a middle-income country, one-to-one education provided by a nurse, which included demonstrations, back demonstrations, and weekly phone calls had a positive impact on women ’s shoulder range of motion and quality of life. NCT04184102
Source: Journal of Cancer Education - Category: Cancer & Oncology Source Type: research