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Non-randomized preliminary study of an education and elastic-band resistance exercise program on severity of neuropathy, physical function, muscle strength and endurance & quality of life in colorectal cancer patients experiencing oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy.

Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan. Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Division of Colon/Rectal, Department of Surgical Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chia-Yi, Taiwan. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Lin-Ko, Taiwan. Psychosocial & Community Health and Health Services, Schools of Nursing and Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Lin-Ko, Taiwan; Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, School of Nursing, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan. Electronic address: swjane@gw.cgust.edu.tw.

European journal of oncology nursing : the official journal of European Oncology Nursing Society. 2020;:101834
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Abstract

PURPOSE Many colorectal cancer (CRC) patients report having Oxaliplatin-induced peripheral neuropathy (OXAIPN), compromising their overall quality of life (QoL). Yet, the existing studies on examining the effects of elastic-band resistance exercise yielded inconsistent results and there was a scare study with CRC population employing a longitudinal research design. The purpose of this non-randomized preliminary study was to examine the effects of an educational program providing skills and knowledge about OXAIPN along with home-based lower extremity elastic-band exercise training in a sample (n = 42) of Taiwanese patients with CRC. METHOD A quasi-experimental study with one-group, pretest-posttest repeated measures and longitudinal design was employed. The 4.5-month interventional protocol included 8 sessions of face-to-face education from the 3rd to the 7th cycles of chemotherapy. Physical exams, muscle strength and endurance, and self-reports regarding adverse impacts of OXAIPN and QoL were obtained at three time points throughout chemotherapy course. RESULTS The most consistently significant increase was the participants' muscle strength and endurance measured with one-repetition maximum and 6-min walk distance, respectively (both P < .001). The participants' OXAIPN-related QoL showed significant improvements at some time points of the chemotherapy cycles, but not others. CONCLUSION Study findings indicated that an educational program combined with knowledge about OXAIPN symptom management and skills with lower extremity resistance training had potential benefits over time on muscle strength and endurance and autonomic dimension of CIPN-related QoL. These preliminarily results may assist healthcare providers to incorporate self-management strategies such as lower extremity exercise for patients with OXAIPN to partially mitigate its negative effects.