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Effects of Manual Therapy on Chronic Pain and Functionality of Breast Cancer Survivors

The Effects of Manual Therapy on Chronic Pain and Functionality of Breast Cancer Survivors: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Terminated
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04084600
Enrollment
10
Registered
2019-09-10
Start date
2019-11-01
Completion date
2020-02-27
Last updated
2021-02-26

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Breast Cancer

Brief summary

the aim of this study is to verify whether manual therapy associated with kinesiotherapy is more effective than kinesiotherapy alone in the treatment of chronic pain and upper limb dysfunction in women surviving cancer of mama. It is a randomized controlled double blind clinical trial (evaluator and patient), parallel in two groups (Intervention Group and Sham Group). The intervention will last 6 weeks and chronic pain and upper limb functionality will be evaluated. Both groups will undergo a kinesiotherapy program once a week for 6 consecutive weeks. Also, participants in the intervention group will receive, once a week, a manual therapy protocol, while participants in the Sham group will receive traditional massage. Manual therapy associated with kinesiotherapy is expected to yield superior results to the isolated kinesiotherapy in chronic pain and upper limb functionality.

Detailed description

This study will be a double-blind randomized controlled trial, parallel in two groups (intervention group and sham). Participants will initially be evaluated by a trained investigator who will be blinded and assigned randomly (random numbers generated on the computer) block for the intervention and sham groups by an opaque envelope draw. Participants will be randomized into two groups: intervention and sham. Both groups will undergo a kinesiotherapy program once a week for 6 consecutive weeks. Also, participants in the intervention group will receive, once a week, a manual therapy protocol, while participants in the Sham group will receive traditional massage. When making the invitation to participate in the survey, individuals will not be required to participate if they do not agree, and therefore will not be penalized. Participants who agree to participate in the survey will sign a Free and Informed Consent Form and will be informed of the possibility of withdrawing from the survey at any stage, without penalty. The collection of the evaluation and intervention will be carried out in a salon Clinic School of Physiotherapy in the Center of Health and Sports Sciences (CEFID) of the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC) in the city of Florianópolis- SC. All personal identification data of the participants will be preserved according to resolution of the national health council, taking into account the possibility of scientific dissemination of the results obtained. The risks of these procedures will be medium, since the participant may present muscle pain after the intervention protocol. To minimize these risks will be available, if necessary, attendance at the Clinic School of Physiotherapy. The sample will be selected in a non-probabilistic way for convenience. This study will include women diagnosed with breast cancer who have undergone breast surgery with curative intent and who have completed chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy treatments.

Interventions

Kinesiotherapy Protocol is an specific exercise based treatment designed to strengthening, gaining range of motion and stretching the muscles.

Manual therapy protocol: is a manual treatment intended to the release of fascias and soft tissues.

Traditional Massage is a gentle and superficial massage.

Sponsors

University of the State of Santa Catarina
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* age over 18 years; * have had surgery to treat breast cancer;- have completed chemotherapy and / or radiotherapy; * have upper quadrant pain homolateral to surgery for at least the last 3 months, with a score of 4 or more on the visual analog scale (VAS) in the last week * present a score greater than or equal to 30 on the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand Dysfunction Questionnaire (DASH).

Exclusion criteria

* difficulty in understanding the Portuguese language to answer the questionnaires; * have had bilateral surgery to treat breast cancer; * be in palliative care; * pregnant women; * be using analgesic and / or anti-inflammatory drugs * women with rheumatic diseases * be in physical therapy during the intervention period.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in pain dimensionsChange from Pre Intervention pain dimensions at 6 weeks Post InterventionPain dimensions will be assessed using the McGill Pain Questionnaire. It is an instrument that assesses pain dimensions in physical (sensitive and discriminative) aspects, pain interpretation (affective and motivational) and pain understanding (cognitive and evaluative). It is made up of 4 large groups, divided into 20 smaller groups of words, each of which is related to a type of pain. The groups are numbered according to intensity, with 1 being the smallest: 10 groups of 42 words related to physical aspects; 5 groups of 14 words related to the affective part; 1 group of 5 words about pain in general; 4 groups of 17 words that did not fit the other groups, called miscellaneous. The values are summed and the result is given by the pain index (sum of the intensity values of the chosen descriptors, with a maximum value of 78) and by the number of descriptors (how many words were marked, with a maximum value of 20).
Change in Chronic Pain IntensityChange from Pre Intervention Chronic Pain Intensity at 6 weeks Post InterventionChronic pain intensity will be evaluated through the analogue visual scale. It consists of a numbered line from 1 to 10, 0 being no pain and 10 the worst pain imaginable.
Change in Pain LocationChange from Pre Intervention Pain Location at 6 weeks Post InterventionPain location will be assessed using a Body Pain Diagram. It is a graphical representation of a woman's body in anterior, posterior, and lateral views to identify the location and frequency of pain. In this diagram, women should mark with a X their main pain points in the upper quadrant homolateral to the surgery.
Change in Neuropathic PainChange from Pre Intervention neuropathic pain at 6 weeks Post InterventionNeuropathic Pain will be assessed using the Douler Neuropathique 4 Questionnaire. It aims to discriminate neuropathic pain from nociceptive pain. It consists of 10 items grouped into 4 sections. The first 7 items are related to pain quality (burning, painful cold, and electric shock) and its association with abnormal sensations (tingling, numbness, and itching). The remaining 3 items are associated with neurological examination in the painful area (touch hypoesthesia, needle stick hypoesthesia, and tactile allodynia). Each positive item receives a 1-point score and the total score is calculated as the sum of all 10 items. A score of 4 or higher indicates the diagnosis of neuropathic pain.
Change in central sensitization painChange from Pre Intervention central sensitization pain at 6 weeks Post InterventionCentral sensitization pain will be assessed using the the Central Sensitization Questionnaire. It aims to evaluate the symptoms considered associated with central sensitization pain. The total score ranges from 0 to 100 and a score of 40 or more indicates the presence of central sensitization pain.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Muscle strengthChange from Pre Intervention Muscle strength at 6 weeks Post InterventionMuscle strength will be assessed by the Kendall scale, graded from 1 to 5.
Range of motionChange from Pre Intervention Range of motion at 6 weeks Post InterventionThe range of motion will be evaluated by a goniometer
Circumference of the armChange from Pre Intervention Circumference of the arm at 6 weeks Post InterventionThe circumference of the arm will be evaluated by the perimeter.
Upper limb functionalityChange from Pre Intervention Upper limb functionality at 6 weeks Post InterventionThe Arm, Shoulder and Hand Dysfunctions Questionnaire (DASH) will be used to assess disabilities and physical symptoms of the upper limbs. It is a 30-item questionnaire that evaluates the physical disabilities and symptoms of upper limbs in a wide variety of musculoskeletal disorders. The Likert score ranges from 1 to 5 and the total score ranges from 0 to 100, where higher scores represent higher physical disabilities and upper limb symptoms. The questions refer to the last week and the questionnaire items are divided into physical function, symptoms and social function.Questionnaire.

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026