Onkologische Rehabilitation

Physical interventions for patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced polyneuropathy

“…Most cancer survivors are able to benefit from cancer rehabilitation, including interventions to improve physical performance, nutrition, mental health, and pain control [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Successful cancer rehabilitation efforts enable many patients to increase their participation at work, improve active daily living and to return to work [2,5], and risk of cancer mortality and recurrence have been shown to be lowered.…”

“…Successful cancer rehabilitation efforts enable many patients to increase their participation at work, improve active daily living and to return to work [2,5], and risk of cancer mortality and recurrence have been shown to be lowered. Cancer rehabilitation normally includes informational support, psychosocial oncology interventions, nutrition counseling, and physical therapies and modalities like regular physical activity and (medical) exercise.…”

“…Cancer rehabilitation normally includes informational support, psychosocial oncology interventions, nutrition counseling, and physical therapies and modalities like regular physical activity and (medical) exercise. Self-management interventions for patients are also important and necessary in order to improve patients' adherence to cancer rehabilitation initiatives [1][2][3][4][5].…”

“…In our opinion, before starting any exercise program, contraindication potential must be assessed (e.g., psychosocial assessment, cardiotoxicity assessment, such as by echocardiography, pulmonary function testing, musculoskeletal strength, and flexibility testing) and patients are to be excluded if clinically determined to be at increased risk of harm. Every exercise intervention should be planned on the basis of such assessments and performed under regular medical supervision in order to minimize or to avoid side effects and (possibly life-threatening) complications [2,4,[7][8][9]. In addition, self-management interventions should be incorporated into the protocol-patients are able to help themselves to mitigate the symptoms and sequelae of cancer and its necessary treatment and certainly can be educated to incorporate appropriate self-monitoring and report any sequelae before these are exacerbated and thereby risk adherence to treatment and rehabilitation.…”

“…Different physical modalities (but also medications) are often used as therapeutic measures for the treatment of polyneuropathy [2,10]. To counteract chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms, the field of Physical Medicine offers different modalities which are individually prescribed depending on the needs and objectives of the patients.…”