Rehabilitation Effect of Systematic Exercise in Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of systematic aerobic exercise on the rehabilitation of breast cancer patients after surgery. METHODS: 110 breast cancer patients after surgery were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group, with 55 patients in each group. Both groups underwent traditional functional exercises for the affected upper limb, while the intervention group also received aerobic exercises and 24-style Tai Chi. Changes in muscle strength, body shape, vital capacity, maximum oxygen uptake, bone mineral density, and quality of life in the affected upper limb were observed before and after exercise in both groups. RESULTS: After 16 weeks of observation, the intervention group showed significant improvements in muscle strength, maximum oxygen uptake, and vital capacity of the affected limb compared to before observation and in the control group (P<0.05), while bone mineral density remained unchanged. Body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were significantly lower than before observation (P<0.05). In the control group, only the elbow flexor muscle strength on the affected side showed a significant improvement compared to before observation (P<0.05), while bone mineral density decreased. There was no statistically significant difference in quality of life between the two groups before and after observation. CONCLUSION: Aerobic exercise can effectively improve the overall function of breast cancer patients.