Exercise Training and Breast Cancer-Related Lymphedema: A Systematic Review

Background: Despite the improvements that have been made in treatment of breast cancer, upper-limb lymphedema is still an unsolved problem in the treatment of women with breast cancer. Upper extremity lymphedema may accompany with decreased in shoulder range of motion and strength, and also pain. Nowadays, exercise training acts as a treatment method to control lymphedema in breast cancer survivors. Therefore, this study reviews the results of the applied studies in this field to survey the influ-ences of exercise training on lymphedema and to determine its related symptoms in women with breast cancer. Data Sources: Literature investigation was conducted on August 1st, 2016 using PUBMED, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Google Scholar databases. StudySelection: RandomizedandnonrandomizedcontrolledtrialspublishedinEnglishwereincluded. Twelvetrailsmetinclusion criteria. DataExtraction: Datawereextractedinastandardizedmannerintothepredefinedtable. Then,qualityof thestudieswasevaluated using the guide to community preventive services tool. Conclusions: It can be seen that a few studies have examined the effect of exercise training on lymphedema to conduct a review study. So, lymphedema continues to be a problem for breast cancer survivors. According to most studies, aerobic, resistance and stretching training programs had no influence on the volume and circumference of arm in lymphedema cancer patients, but the training had a noticeable influence on quality of life