Evaluation of the effectiveness of a phased rehabilitation training programme to relieve shoulder dysfunction in patients after neck dissection

To explore the effect of a phased rehabilitation training programme to relieve shoulder dysfunction in patients after neck dissection and to provide effective solutions for postoperative shoulder joint function recovery of patients.

This study has been reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee, and informed consent has been obtained from patients. A phased rehabilitaiton training programme for the shoulder after neck dessection was developed through literature review and discussion, and 70 eligible patients from Hospital of Stomatology, Sun Yat-sen University from December 2020 to April 2021 were selected and randomly divided into the test group and control group (35 patients in each group). The control group underwent motor rehabilitation training from 6 weeks postoperative to 1 year after surgery, such as shoulder mobility and coordination training and small range of motion training of the neck, while the test group took part in a rehabilitation training program that included familiarization maneuver training, protective rehabilitation, exercise rehabilitation, and resistance training in the following four stages: preoperative, postoperative general anesthesia and awake until the removal of stitches, the removal of stitches until 6 weeks after surgery, and 6 weeks after surgery until 1 year after surgery. The frequency of training in both groups was at least 3 days per week, and the length of each training session was 10-15 min. The intensity of exercise was 2-3 points on the Borg Conscious Exercise Intensity Scale (i.e., mild-to-moderate tachypnea or fatigue). The neck dissection injury index (NDII) was used to evaluate the quality of life related to shoulder joint function at four time points: preoperative, postoperative 3 months, postoperative 6 months, and postoperative 12 months. The higher the score, the better the quality of life.

28 cases in the test group and 32 cases in the control group completed a one-year follow-up. At 3 and 6 months postoperative, the NDII of the test group was significantly higher than that of the control group [3 months postoperative: test group (93.48 ± 9.36) vs. control group (80.00 ± 11.34) (P<0.001), 6 months postoperative: test group (98.21 ± 4.76) vs. control group (90.70 ± 9.12) (P<0.001)]; 12 months after surgery, the NDII of the test group (97.23 ± 4.88) was still higher than that of the control group (96.33 ± 4.49), but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.458). The difference in NDII scores among subjects at 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery was statistically significant in each group (P<0.001).

The application of the phased rehabilitation training method in neck dissection patients has a feasibility and could improve the quality of life of patients' shoulder joint function within 6 months after surgery.