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
Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Apr;10(4):2030-2043.
doi: 10.1002/nop2.1518. Epub 2022 Nov 30.

Effect of exercise on rehabilitation of breast cancer surgery patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Yawei Lin  1   2 , Yi Chen  3 , Rongrong Liu  1 , Baohua Cao  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of exercise on rehabilitation of breast cancer surgery patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Yawei Lin et al. Nurs Open. 2023 Apr.

Abstract

Aim: To determine the effective exercise methods for different complications of breast cancer patients after surgery.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A comprehensive electronic search was carried out with no time limit until May 2020. Studies must have been randomized controlled trials of patients after breast cancer surgery, without limit to the way of exercise. Literature quality was evaluated by the modified Jadad scale. The meta-analysis was conducted with CMA2.0 software.

Results: Aerobic exercise reduced the intensity of the pain (MD = -1.043), improved shoulder flexion (MD = 3.398) and internal rotation range (MD = 3.868), lessened upper limb dysfunction (MD = -5.231) and improved muscle strength during flexion (MD = 1.076) and abduction (MD = 0.991). Shoulder elbow movement improved the range of shoulder external rotation (MD = 2.691) and reduced the incidence of arm lymphedema (RR = 0.343). Anti-resistance exercise also lessened upper limb dysfunction (MD = - 4.094).

Keywords: breast cancer; meta-analysis; rehabilitation exercise; surgery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow diagram of the literature search and selection processes
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
(a) Effect of aerobic exercise on pain. A=experimental, B=control. (b) Effect of resistance exercise on pain. A=experimental, B=control
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
(a) Effect of aerobic excercise on shoulder internal rotation range. A=control, B=experimental. (b) Effect of aerobic exercise on shoulder joint flexion range. A=control, B=experimental
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
(a) Effect of aerobic exercise on shoulder abduction range. A=control, B=experimental. (b) Effect of aerobic exercise on shoulder external rotation range. A=control, B=experimental. (c) Effect of aerobic exercise on shoulder extension range. A=control, B=experimental
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
(a) Effect of shoulder and elbow movement on shoulder abduction range. A=control, B=experimental. (b) Effect of shoulder and elbow movement on shoulder external rotation range. A=control, B=experimental
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
(a) Effect of resistance exercise on upper limb dysfunction. A=experimental, B=control. (b) Effect of aerobic exercise on upper limb dysfunction. A=experimental, B=control
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Effect of manual lymphatic drainage on arm lymphedema. A=experimental, B=control. (b) Effect of aerobic exercise on arm lymphedema. A=experimental, B=control. (c) Effect of shoulder and elbow movement on arm hymphedema. A=experimental, B=control
FIGURE 8
FIGURE 8
(a) Effect of aerobic exercise on muscle strength during flexion. A=control, B=experimental. (b) Effect of aerobic excercise on abduction muscle strength. A=control, B=experimental
FIGURE 9
FIGURE 9
Funnel plot for the intensity of pain
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Ammitzbøll, G. , Andersen, K. G. , Bidstrup, P. E. , Johansen, C. , Lanng, C. , Kroman, N. , Zerahn, B. , Hyldegaard, O. , Andersen, E. W. , & Dalton, S. O. (2020). Effect of progressive resistance training on persistent pain after axillary dissection in breast cancer: A randomized controlled trial. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 179, 173–183. 10.1007/s10549-019-05461-z - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bhat, V. , Pellizzari, S. , Allan, A. L. , Wong, E. , Lock, M. , Brackstone, M. , Lohmann, A. E. , Cescon, D. W. , & Parsyan, A. (2022). Radiotherapy and radiosensitization in breast cancer: Molecular targets and clinical applications. Critical reviews in Oncology/Hematology., 169, 103566. 10.1016/j.critrevonc.2021.103566 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bogach, J. , Cordeiro, E. , Reel, E. , & Cil, T. D. (2022). Axillary surgery and complication rates after mastectomy and reconstruction for breast cancer: An analysis of the NSQIP database. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 192(3), 501–508. 10.1007/s10549-022-06540-4 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bray, F. , Ferlay, J. , Soerjomataram, I. , Siegel, R. L. , Torre, L. A. , & Jemal, A. (2018). Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: a Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 68, 394–424. 10.3322/caac.21492 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Campbell, K. L. , Winters‐Stone, K. M. , Wiskemann, J. , May, A. M. , Schwartz, A. L. , Courneya, K. S. , Zucker, D. S. , Matthews, C. E. , Ligibel, J. A. , Gerber, L. H. , Morris, G. S. , Patel, A. V. , Hue, T. F. , Perna, F. M. , Schmitz, K. M. (2019). Exercise guidelines for cancer survivors: Consensus Statement from international multidisciplinary roundtable. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 51(11), 2375–2390. 10.1249/MSS.0000000000002116 - DOI - PMC - PubMed