Breast cancer.
Conditions
Interventions
Patients assigned to the treatment group started physiotherapy two weeks following surgery in a private practice of their own choice. The research assistant contacted the physiotherapist who had to co
2. exercises to prevent lymph edema
3. instruction for scar massage if necessary
4. a registration form to report the content of the treatment sessions and a 3-point scale to indicate whether the amount of treatment sessions was sufficient.
The total number of treatments was nine
Sponsors
UMC Nijmegen
Eligibility
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. 18 years of age and older; 2. Breast cancer with an ALND; 3. A Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)-pain score (0 – 10) of 1 minimally; 4. Moderate shoulder disabilities in daily life (minimal 3 points on a 5 points disability score list).
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: 1. Patients with a previous contra-lateral mastectomy; 2. Patients with insufficient knowledge of the Dutch language to fill in the questionnaires.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Shoulder mobility (flexion [0-180°], abduction [0-180°]), measured by use of a digital inclinometer under standardized conditions; 2. Pain in the shoulder/arm, measured using the VAS score (0 – 10, 0 = no pain; 10 = unbearable pain). | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Disabilities in daily life, measured by the DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) questionnaire (0 – 100, 0 = no functional problems, 100 = maximal problems); 2. Edema (ml), measured in both arms by means of water displacement, grip strength (Kg) of both hands, measured using the hand-held dynamometer and quality of life, as measured by the SIP (Sickness Impact Profile-short version) questionnaire (0 – 68, 0 = good health status; 68 = sever physically disabled). | — |
Contacts
Public ContactC.H.G. Beurskens
UMCN Afd. Fysiotherapie 645 Postbus 9101
Outcome results
None listed