The effect of upper limb lymphedema in posture of patients after breast cancer surgery

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Upper limb lymphedema is one of the complications following breast cancer-related surgery. It is a fact that there are alterations in posture of the trunk following surgery, however, there is not much data on whether upper limb lymphedema has any effect on body posture. OBJECTIVES: The main purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of upper limb lymphedema in the trunk posture and spine mobility of patients following breast cancer surgery. METHODS: Twenty-seven women with lymphedema and 29 women without lymphedema with mastectomy or breast-conserving surgery participated in the study. Posture was evaluated by the New York Posture Rating Chart and spinal stability and thoracic mobility were evaluated by the Spinal Mouse device. RESULTS: Posture and spine posture scores were significantly higher in the without lymphedema group (p= 0.004; 0.041; respectively). There was a significant difference between the groups in terms of lateral (p< 0.001) and posterior (p< 0.001) view of shoulders, spine (p= 0.027), upper (p< 0.001) and lower back (p= 0.009), and trunk postures (p= 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Body posture and spine are more affected due to upper limb lymphedema following breast cancer surgery. Alterations of posture mainly occur on shoulders, spine, upper and lower back, and trunk, but not on head and neck postures.

Explore the Application Value of Prospective Monitoring Model in the Nursing Management of Breast Cancer Patients During Perioperative Period

“…The combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy treatment creates favorable conditions for saving the lives of breast cancer patients and prolonging their postoperative survival. However, the treatment is prone to several complications, such as upper limb lymphedema ( 3 ), upper limb dysfunction ( 4 ), subcutaneous effusion ( 5 ), flap necrosis ( 6 ), cancer-related fatigue ( 7 ), pain syndrome ( 8 ), Toxic side effects during radiotherapy and chemotherapy ( 9 ), anxiety and depression ( 10 ), and sleep disorders ( 11 ). All of these complications can seriously impair the physical, functional, emotional and family/social health of patients, which in turn affects the postoperative recovery process and the quality of postoperative survival.…”

Effect of Cytoskeletal Manual Therapy, a Novel Soft Tissue Mobilization Technique, on Axillary Web Syndrome after Axillary Lymph Node Dissection: A Case Report

“…Therefore, CMT focuses on the physiological factors of stretching and the direction of pressure applied to the tissue to improve tissue strength and extensibility through the proper recovery of fibroblasts and homeostasis of the cytoskeleton [23,24]. Postoperative adhesions cause anterior translation of the humeral head during forward shoulder flexion [35], and stimulation is transmitted to the long head of the biceps brachii [36]. This joint positioning fault can be explained by adhesion of the posterior capsule of the shoulder joint.…”

The Influence of External Breast Prostheses on the Body Postures of Women Who Have Undergone Mastectomies

“…Among the recently discussed breast cancer issues is the postural control assessment in women after mastectomy [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. A review of the above-mentioned publications indicated that the undertaken research was concerned with the impact of mastectomy on body static conditions [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] and body posture of women who had received mastectomies [ 7 , 10 , 18 , 19 ,…”

“…The results of several scientific reports indicate that mastectomies may cause body posture disorders such as asymmetry in the trunk in the frontal plane [ 18 , 21 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ], asymmetry in the shoulder girdle [ 23 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], the curvature of the spine [ 18 , 30 , 34 , 48 ], anterior–posterior [ 10 , 19 , 24 , 27 , 41 ] deepening of thoracic kyphosis [ 11 , 23 , 34 , 41 , 47 ], deepening of lumbar lordosis [ 47 ], and pelvic abnormalities [ 10 ]. Researchers are currently trying to answer questions surrounding whether the body postures of women after mastectomy depend on which side of the body was operated on [ 7 , 19 , 20 , 32 , 34 , 47 ], the type of procedure performed [ 20 , 21 , 24 , 34 , 39 ], lymphedema [ 26 , 27 , 31 ], the time elapsed since the procedure [ 21 ], breast reconstruction [ 22 , 25 , 28 , 30 , 33 , 40 ], and type reconstruction [ 25 ] as well as the ...…”