Comparison of Kinesiotaping and Graded Exposure Therapy on Kinesiophobia in Post-Mastectomy Patients

Mastectomy is a procedure performed as a part of treatment for breast cancer, which entails removal of entire breast tissue. Breast cancer is a condition where abnormal cells in the breasts proliferate and eventually develop tumor. It is the most prevalent form of cancer accounting for 23% of all the newly diagnosed cancers. There are several types of mastectomy procedures including complete mastectomy, radical mastectomy and modified radical mastectomy. After mastectomy, many possible complications and side effects can occur including seroma, lymphedema, pain, restricted range of motion, kinesiophobia, infection etc. and all these complications required special care and treatment to improve patient's quality of life. Breast cancer survivor often develop fear of movement called kinesiophobia either due to pain or other psychological factors. It is the excessive, irrational, and debilitating fear of movement or physical activity. This fear of movement is linked to a feeling of susceptibility to injury from movement. As a result of using the painful area less due to the fear of increased pain from movement, acute pain can develop into persistent and chronic pain that in return increase hospital stay and decrease quality of life which increase the financial burden on individual. According to the recent studies kinesiophobia is one of the parameters found in post-mastectomy patients with mean Tempa -11 score of 24 in Pakistani populations.

Post mastectomy complications are mostly manageable, and studies show significant improvement in patient's symptoms. Shoulder disability, pain and ROM are addressed in many studies but managing kinesiophobia in early stages after mastectomy still needs to be further discussed