Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2021 , Vol 67 , Num 2

The effects of complex decongestive therapy on kinesthetic sense of hands, upper extremity function, and quality of life in patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema

Hilal Yeşil 1 ,Sibel Eyigör 2 ,Menekşe İnbat 2 ,Ferah Bulut 1
1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Afyon Kocatepe University, Faculty of Medicine, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey
2 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Ege University, Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey
DOI : 10.5606/tftrd.2021.5191 Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effect of complex decongestive therapy (CDT) on the kinesthetic sense of hands, upper extremity function, and the quality of life in patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL).

Patients and methods: Between August 2018 and August 2019, total of 50 women with BCRL (mean age: 56.5±9.6 years; range, 36 to 71 years) were included in the study. Kinesthetic sense of the hand, upper extremity function (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand [DASH]), quality of life (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire [EORTC QLQ-C30]), and arm volume of all patients were evaluated before and after the treatment. All patients received CDT for 20 sessions for 1 h over a total of four weeks.

Results: A statistically significant decrease in the volume of the involved extremity was observed after the treatment (p<0.001). There was a significant decrease in the symptom score (p<0.001) and a significant improvement in the general health status and functional scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 (p<0.001 and p=0.012, respectively). The DASH scores and visual and kinesthetic sense scores of the patients significantly improved after the treatment (p=0.016, p=0.008, and p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: Our study results show that BCRL is a serious complication which may lead to impairment in the kinesthetic sense of hand and upper extremity function with the increased arm volume. The CDT is an effective and safe method not only to achieve significant volume reduction in the extremities, but also to achieve favorable results in managing these problems. Keywords : Complex decongestive therapy, disabilities of the arm, kinesthetic sense, lymphedema, quality of life, shoulder and hand