Effect of myofascial release, stretching, and strengthening on upper torso posture, spinal curvatures, range of motion, strength, shoulder pain and disability, and quality of life in breast cancer survivors

Background and Purpose Breast cancer survivors are known to develop upper torso pain and stiffness including shoulder elevation and ipsilateral inclination of the trunk within a short period of time as a result of cancer adjuvant therapies correlating with the type and side of surgery. Hence, the study. Methods Twenty‐two breast cancer survivors at a tertiary care hospital, Belgaum, Karnataka, have participated in this pre‐post experimental study which included myofascial release (MFR), stretching, and strengthening for four sessions per week for 3 weeks that is, a total of 12 sessions. The participants were assessed at baseline and post‐intervention using photogrammetry for Posture and shoulder range of motion (ROM), flexicurve for spinal curvatures, digital inclinometer for cervical ROM, manual muscle testing and hand dynamometer for strength of the upper back, shoulder muscles and hand grip, Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI) for shoulder impairment and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Breast (FACT‐B) for quality of life. Results The outcomes were analyzed with a p‐value set at ≤0.05. The results of the study demonstrated a substantial improvement in the posture alignment (p = 0.001), shoulder and cervical ROM (p = 0.001), upper back and shoulder muscle and hand grip strength (p = 0.001), SPADI (p = 0.001), and FACT‐B (p = 0.001) values. Discussion The upper torso malalignment and muscular imbalance is seen in patients who has undergone surgeries involving the chest wall and early physiotherapy intervention can benefit the patients overall physical performance and quality of life. Hence, MFR, stretching and strengthening has shown to be beneficial in improving upper torso malalignment in breast cancer survivors. Implications of Physiotherapy Practice The suggested techniques can be applied at a larger scale which can involve patients with head and neck cancer since the areas of intervention are identical. CTRI (Clinical Trial Registry‐ India) Registration No.: CTRI/2021/01/030453.