Influence of the external breast prosthesis on the postural control of women who underwent mastectomy: Cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background:Women after mastectomy may decide to either have a breast reconstruction or use an external breast prosthesis. Aim: The aim of the presented research was to evaluate the influence of external breast prosthesis on postural stability in women after mastectomy. Methods and Procedures: In the study 52 women after unilateral mastectomy took part. The study consisted of 4 parts: 1) anthropometric measurements; 2) measurements of upper limb circumference; 3) assessment of weight-bearing (WB); and 4) posturographic tests (PT). Outcomes and Results: Differences in the arm circumferences on the amputated (A) and non-amputated (NA) sides did not confirm the occurrence of lymphedema in limb on amputated side. The results of the WB between the A and NA body sides in both tested conditions, i.e., with open and closed eyes, showed no significant differences between the test with and without an external prosthesis. No statistically differences have been observed between posturometric parameters with and without breast prosthesis during both PT. In comparing the posturometric parameters between the PT with open and closed eyes, the sway path of the center of pressure was statistically significantly longer when eyes were closed in both conditions, i.e., with and without breast prosthesis. Conclusion and Implications: The finding show that 1) external breast prosthesis does not have a significant influence on the symmetry of loading on the A and NA body sides and on the postural stability of women after unilateral mastectomy and 2) exclusion visual control during PT increases postural instability in women after unilateral mastectomy.

Efectos de la mastectomía en los parámetros baropodométricos de pacientes con cáncer de seno

“…Furthermore, our results showed a higher mean pressure on the mastectomy side compared to the healthy side with a percentage of 50.82±2.866 vs 49.18±2.866 respectively. This is similar to what was found by Koralewska et al 14 , which studied 52 women after unilateral mastectomy. According to their results the mean± SD weight bearing distribution on the amputated side was 50.10 ± 4.86 compared to 49.90 ± 4.86 on the non-amputated side.…”

The Influence of External Breast Prostheses on the Body Postures of Women Who Have Undergone Mastectomies

“…Perhaps this is because the weight of the female breast (only 4.4% of the total adipose tissue mass) in relation to the total body weight is not as biomechanically significant as it is commonly believed to be [ 32 ]. In addition, as mentioned in the Introduction, the results from the first part of our project, consisting of comparing the measurements of weight-bearing distribution between the amputated and non-amputated side of the body in conditions with and without an external breast prosthesis, did not confirm a significant impact of the external breast prosthesis on the postural stabilities of women who had unilateral mastectomies [ 12 ].…”

“…This program aimed to provide comprehensive care and rehabilitation for a group of women after mastectomy. This was the same group of women who had participated in our previous study on the “Postural Control of Women Who Underwent Mastectomy” [ 12 ]. The mean age of the participants was 61.8 ± 10.8 years.…”

“…Among the recently discussed breast cancer issues is the postural control assessment in women after mastectomy [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ]. A review of the above-mentioned publications indicated that the undertaken research was concerned with the impact of mastectomy on body static conditions [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ] and body posture of women who had received mastectomies [ 7 , 10 , 18 , 19 ,…”

“…The literature on the subject and popular opinion have indicated the importance of external breast prostheses in restoring correct trunk statics and protecting against body posture disorders and balance disorders [ 32 ]. However, some studies do not confirm the significant impact of external breast prostheses on the occurrence of postural control disorders [ 11 , 12 , 16 , 32 ]. Such controversies have encouraged the authors to recognize the problem of postural control disorders in women after unilateral mastectomies as part of a broader research project, “Postural control disorders in women after unilateral mastectomy.” The results of the first part of this project, consisting of comparing the measurement of weight-bearing distribution between the amputated and non-amputated side of the body in conditions with and without an external breast prosthesis, showed that: (1) the occurrence of lymphoedema in the upper limb on the amputated side did not affect the nature of the asymmetry in weight-bearing distribution between the amputated and non-amputated side of the body [ 16 ] and (2) the external breast prosthesis does not have a major impact on the postural stabilities of women after unilateral mastectomy [ 12 ].…”