Skip to main content

Resistance Exercise Boosts Outcomes After Early-Stage Breast Cancer Surgery

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on June 7, 2024.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 -- Early resistance exercise following surgery for early-stage breast cancer improves shoulder range of motion (ROM) and strength at one month and six months postsurgery, according to a study published online June 5 in JAMA Surgery.

Jihee Min, Ph.D., from the National Cancer Center in Goyang-si, South Korea, and colleagues investigated whether an early resistance exercise intervention, initiated day 1 postsurgery and continued for one month, could improve shoulder ROM and strength in patients with breast cancer. Analysis included 54 patients with early-stage breast cancer who were scheduled for partial or total mastectomy.

The researchers found that at one-month postsurgery, 67.9 percent in the exercise group had fully recovered shoulder strength versus 3.6 percent in the usual care group. A similar pattern was seen at six months, with 78.6 percent in the exercise group having fully recovered shoulder ROM and 85.7 percent had fully recovered strength versus 21.4 and 17.9 percent, respectively, in the usual care group. Additionally, there was less loss in muscle mass and improved physical activity and quality of life in the exercise group versus the usual care group.

"The findings suggest that an early tailored home-based exercise intervention supplemented with supervised sessions during surgical visit immediately after breast cancer surgery was effective," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Posted June 2024

Read this next

Acupuncture Reduces Endocrine Symptoms, Hot Flashes in Breast Cancer

MONDAY, June 24, 2024 -- A 10-week acupuncture intervention significant reduces endocrine symptoms and hot flashes among women with breast cancer receiving endocrine therapy (ET)...

Study Quantifies Risk for Gastric, Breast Cancer for Germline CDH1 P/LP Variants

FRIDAY, June 21, 2024 -- The cumulative risk for advanced gastric cancer varies from 6.5 to 10.3 percent for carriers of germline CDH1 pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP)...

Neighborhood Deprivation Only Tied to Breast Cancer Mortality for White Women

FRIDAY, June 14, 2024 -- Factors aside from neighborhood deprivation are responsible for increased breast cancer mortality among Black women, according to a study published online...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.