Abstract

literature data is scarce concerning the hand function evaluation including hand grip strength, pain, and swelling in subjects with breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL)of the upper extremity following the treatment of breast cancer. Aim: The present study was done to evaluate the hand lymphedema impact on hand grip strength and pain in females having breast cancer to further assess the impact of hand lymphedema severity on them. Methods: The study included 120 females having upper limb lymphedema following the treatment for breast cancer. The included subjects were divided into two groups comprising 60 subjects each based on the hand edema presence Group I had 60 subjects having hand edema (HE+) and Group II included 60 subjects without hand edema (HE-). Grip strength and pain were assessed in all the subjects. Results: median strength difference was 4 (5.3-1) in Group I study subjects compared to Group II where the median was 2 (4-1). These findings showed that the strength difference was significantly lesser for Group I subjects having hand lymphedema compared to group II subjects who did not have hand lymphedema with p=0.04. Concerning the pain difference, it was seen that the median value for pain in Group I was 6 (7.73-3.23) which was significantly higher than in Group II where the pain difference was 3.5 (5-1.73) with a p-value of 0.001. It was seen that pain was significantly higher for subjects with hand lymphedema compared to subjects with no hand lymphedema.

Description