Abstract
Breast cancer survivors (BCS) exhibit decreased physical function and quality of life (QOL) following cancer treatments. Resistance training (RT) may elicit positive changes in physical and mental well-being. This study assessed 27 BCS, pre-and post-intervention (six months) on the following variables: muscular strength (via one repetition maximum (1RM) of chest press and leg extension), physical function (via the Continuous Scale-Physical Functional Performance test) and QOL (via the Short Form-36 survey). RT consisted of two days/week of ten exercises including two sets of 8–12 repetitions at 52%–69% of their 1RM. A repeated measures analysis of variance revealed BCS significantly (p < 0.05) increased upper (71 ± 22 to 89 ± 22 kg) and lower body (74 ± 18 to 93 ± 24 kg) strength, total physical function (65.5 ± 12.1 to 73.6 ± 12.2 units) and the subcomponents of physical function: upper body strength (63.5 ± 16.3 to 71.2 ± 16.8 units), lower body strength (58.5 ± 14.9 to 68.6 ± 16.3 units), balance and coordination (66.5 ± 12.2 to 74.6 ± 11.6 units), and endurance (67.2 ± 12.0 to 75.0 ± 11.6 units). No changes were observed over time for subjective measures of physical function and QOL. Results showed RT could be an effective means to improve objective physical function in BCS. Further research is needed to clarify the effects of RT on subjective physical function and QOL.
Highlights
1.6 million new cases of cancer were expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2014
The present study investigated the efficacy of resistance training in improving the physical function and quality of life (QOL) in a sample of breast cancer survivors (BCS)
No changes were reported for subjective levels of physical or mental QOL, measured via the SF-36 Health Survey; the hypothesis that a resistance training intervention would improve QOL and subjection function in BCS was rejected
Summary
1.6 million new cases of cancer were expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2014. Simonavice et al (2011) found that 17 months after the completion of primary treatment for breast cancer, BCS exhibited 21% lower strength for chest press and 23% lower strength for leg extension compared to age-matched healthy physically inactive women. In this same study the authors found that BCS reported an 11% lower subjective physical function as measured via the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) and demonstrated lower objective physical function scores that were approaching significance compared to age-matched healthy physically inactive controls [13]. The fact that individuals have conquered breast cancer only to remain suffering from decreased physical abilities and QOL warrants the implementation of interventions aimed to correct these deficits
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