2Department of Radiation Oncology, Professor Doctor Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Istanbul-Turkey
3Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Professor Doctor Cemil Tascioglu City Hospital, Istanbul-Turkey DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2021.2875 OBJECTIVE
Virtual reality programs, which have developed rapidly with the advancement of technology, have led to the development of alternative treatment methods preferred in rehabilitation. This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of a video game-based exercise program applied after breast cancer surgery on the upper extremity functionality, pain severity, and the level of fatigue.
METHODS
Fifteen female patients aged between 30 and 60 years (50.13±8.79) who completed their 12th week after
breast cancer surgery and were received adjuvant chemotherapy treatment were randomly included in
this pre-test and post-test study. The patients were performed a 30-min video game-based exercise program.
The muscle strength, range of motion (ROM), pain and fatigue level assessments were performed
before and after the video game-based exercises. The level of exercise pleasure was determined with the
modified visual analog scale.
RESULTS
Shoulder flexion, abduction, and external rotation ROM significantly increased after video game-based
exercise program. No difference was detected for shoulder abduction muscle strength (p>0.05) and pain
level significantly increased (p<0.05). The average exercise pleasure level is 4.5/5 and the average fatigue
level was 11.13/20.
CONCLUSION
Video game-based exercises provided improvement in ROM of the shoulder joint without causing fatigue.
Studies with different treatment durations are needed to minimize the increase in pain level.