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Updated: Oct 26, 2025
A Quantitative Sensory Testing Paradigm to Obtain Measures of Pain Processing in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: January 18, 2018
A pilot study evaluating the effect of early physical therapy on pain and disabilities after breast cancer surgery:
Ifat Klein1, Leonid Kalichman2, Noy Chen3
1Department of Physical Therapy, Assuta Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel; Department of Physical Therapy. Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Background:
Morbidity of the shoulders after breast cancer (BC) surgery is a common side effect that includes; persistent pain, function limitation, and decreased range of motion (ROM). This study examines the effect of early physical therapy (PT) and patient's education on these morbidities.
Methods:
A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted at a single medical center from October 2018 until April 2019. Women scheduled for breast cancer surgery were divided into intervention or control as standard care. The intervention included a PT treatment that included exercise instructions from the first postoperative day. Pain levels, upper limb function, ROM, and complications were measured.
Results:
The study includes 157 women (mean age, 52.2 ± 12.9). Early PT reduced pain levels at the first month (NPRS 1.5 ± 1.2) and six months (NPRS 0.5 ± 0.8), compared with control (NPRS 2.1 ± 1.4, 1.0 ± 1.2), p = 0.019 and p = 0.011, respectively. Subdivision of the sample into small and extensive surgeries revealed additional positive effect for the intervention six months postoperatively on functional disabilities, p = 0.004 and p = 0.032 respectively. No complications attributable to the intervention were recorded.
Conclusions:
Early PT and patient education reduces pain levels, and may improve function disabilities, without causing postoperative complications, although a larger study is needed to achieve unequivocal results.
