Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2021 May 11;11(5):e040116.
doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040116.

Role of physiotherapy in supporting recovery from breast cancer treatment: a qualitative study embedded within the UK PROSPER trial

Sophie Rees  1 , Bruno Mazuquin  2   3 , Helen Richmond  2   4 , Esther Williamson  5 , Julie Bruce  2 ; UK PROSPER Study Group
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Role of physiotherapy in supporting recovery from breast cancer treatment: a qualitative study embedded within the UK PROSPER trial

Sophie Rees et al. BMJ Open. .

Abstract

Objectives: To explore the experiences of women with breast cancer taking part in an early physiotherapy-led exercise intervention compared with the experiences of those receiving usual care. To understand physiotherapists' experience of delivering the trial intervention. To explore acceptability of the intervention and issues related to the implementation of the Prevention Of Shoulder Problems (PROSPER) programme from participant and physiotherapist perspective.

Design: Qualitative semistructured interviews with thematic analysis.

Setting: UK National Health Service.

Participants: Twenty participants at high risk of shoulder problems after breast cancer surgery recruited to the UK PROSPER trial (10 each from the intervention arm and control arm), and 11 physiotherapists who delivered the intervention. Trial participants were sampled using convenience sampling. Physiotherapists were purposively sampled from high and low recruiting sites.

Results: Participants described that the PROSPER exercise intervention helped them feel confident in what their body could do and helped them regain a sense of control in the context of cancer treatment, which was largely disempowering. Control arm participants expressed less of a sense of control over their well-being. Physiotherapists found the exercise intervention enjoyable to deliver and felt it was valuable to their patients. The extra time allocated for appointments during intervention delivery made physiotherapists feel they were providing optimal care, being the 'perfect physio'. Lessons were learnt about the implementation of a complex exercise intervention for women with breast cancer, and the issues raised will inform the development of a future implementation strategy.

Conclusions: A physiotherapist-delivered early supported exercise intervention with integrated behavioural strategies helped women at risk of shoulder problems following breast cancer treatment to feel more confident in their ability to mobilise their arm post-surgery. A physiotherapist-delivered early supported exercise intervention with integrated behavioural strategies may address the sense of powerlessness that many women experience during breast cancer treatment.Trial registration number ISRCTN35358984.

Keywords: breast surgery; preventive medicine; qualitative research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Participant pathway through trial and qualitative study.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. McNeely ML, Campbell K, Ospina M, et al. . Exercise interventions for upper-limb dysfunction due to breast cancer treatment. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2010;6:CD005211. 10.1002/14651858.CD005211.pub2 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mejdahl MK, Andersen KG, Gärtner R, et al. . Persistent pain and sensory disturbances after treatment for breast cancer: six year nationwide follow-up study. BMJ 2013;346:f1865. 10.1136/bmj.f1865 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cardoso F, Kyriakides S, Ohno S. Early breast cancer: ESMO clinical practice guidelines for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up. Ann Oncol 2019;130:1674. 10.1093/annonc/mdz189 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Excellence NIfC . Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management NICE guideline [NG101], 2018. Available: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101/chapter/Recommendations - PubMed
    1. Dennett AM, Harding KE, Reed MS. The challenge of timing: a qualitative study on clinician and patient perspectives about implementing exercise-based rehabilitation in an acute cancer treatment setting. Support Care Cancer 2020;28:6035–43. 10.1007/s00520-020-05436-7 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data