ARTICLE | LEVEL OF EVIDENCE* | GENERAL CONCLUSION |
---|---|---|
Moseley et al,72 2005 | 3 | 10-minute upper extremity exercise with deep breathing reduces lymphedema |
Gordon et al,73 2005 | 3 | Early physiotherapy has potential for short-term functional, physical, and QOL benefits |
Kilgour et al,74 2008 | 2 | Home-based exercise helps improve shoulder mobility and ROM immediately following surgery |
Lauridsen et al,75 2005 | 1 or 2† | Early physiotherapy treatment did not increase complications following surgery |
Cinar et al, 76 2008 | 2 | Early supervised exercise was superior to home-based exercise; neither increased lymphedema |
Johansson et al,77 2005 | 2 | Low-intensity resistive exercises resulted in acute lymphedema that resolved after 24 hours; use of compression garments did not affect swelling |
De Rezende et al,78 2006 | 2 | Direct supervised exercise was superior to self-exercise; no effect on lymphedema |
Cheema and Gaul,79 2006 | 5 | Strength exercises are safe in conditioned women |
Courneya et al,80 2007 | 1 | Exercise improved self-esteem, physical fitness, body composition, and chemotherapy completion rates without causing lymphedema |
Ahmed et al,81 2006 | 2 | Resistive exercises did not increase lymphedema |
QOL—quality of life, ROM—range of motion.
↵* Levels of evidence range from 1, the strongest evidence (systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials), to 5, the weakest evidence (expert opinion).
↵† This study had a large sample size, but did not calculate confidence intervals and power to ensure that the results were not false positive.