Radial shock wave and a tailored exercise program on axillary web syndrome after breast cancer surgery with axillary dissection: a controlled clinical trial

Introduction The study evaluated the effectiveness of combining radial shock wave therapy and a tailored exercise program for treating axillary web syndrome after breast cancer surgery. Methods Ninety-three eligible patients were randomly divided into three groups who received radial shock waves and a tailored exercise program (group A), shock wave therapy (group B), or a tailored exercise program (group C). All three groups underwent treatment over 4 weeks and were assessed for shoulder flexion and abduction, pain, thickness, echogenicity, cord disorganisation, and abbreviated disabilities of the arm, shoulder and hand (Quick DASH) assessment at the beginning and end of the interventions. The statistical analysis included descriptive statistics, tests for homogeneity, chi-squared tests, interquartile range, Kruskal–Wallis tests, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc Tukey. Results After the 4-week interventions, the mean differences in outcome measures indicated significant variations among the groups. Specifically, group A exhibited mean differences of –7.9 and –6.87 for shoulder flexion compared to groups B and C, respectively. For shoulder abduction, group A had mean differences of –20.17 and –10.28 compared to groups B and C, while group B exhibited a mean difference of 9.89 compared to group C. Additionally, distinct mean differences were observed for visual analogue scale (VAS), cord thickness, and Quick DASH across the groups. Conclusions The results suggest that combining radial shock wave therapy with a tailored exercise program provides greater benefits compared to the exercise program or radial shock wave therapy alone for patients who have undergone breast cancer surgery with axillary dissection.