Cancer Survivorship Symposium: Exercise and Arm Mobility After Breast Cancer Surgery
Posted: Monday, March 5, 2018
A lymphedema prevention intervention that includes exercise and a visit with a physical therapist appears to help women regain their range of motion more quickly after lymph node dissection for breast cancer, according to a randomized phase III clinical trial presented at the 2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium in Orlando, Florida (Abstract 123). For these women, physical therapy after surgery may help to regain range of motion quickly and to maintain physical function.
“We hope this study brings awareness to the need to follow up with women who have had lymph-node surgery and experience range-of-arm-motion problems as a result,” lead author of the study Electra D. Paskett, PhD, Professor of Cancer Research at The Ohio State University, said in a press release.
Of the 568 women in the study, 253 were assigned to an “education only” group and 315 were assigned to an “education + exercise” group. Participants in the education only group received information about lymphedema signs, symptoms, and risk-reduction strategies, whereas those in the education + exercise group received a visit with a physical therapist and breathing and stretching exercises in addition to the lymphedema information.
A year after surgery, 91% of women who had received education + exercise self-reported full range of motion for both arms, compared with 84% of women who had received educational materials alone. By 18 months, around 93% of participants in both groups reported full range of motion.
