Effect of Dance Movement Therapy on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A Pre-post Intervention Study

Vishnu Vardhan; Chanan Goyal; Jaimini Chaudhari; Vandana Jain; Chaitanya A Kulkarni; Moli Jain

doi:10.7759/cureus.21040

Effect of Dance Movement Therapy on Cancer-Related Fatigue in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy: A Pre-post Intervention Study

Cureus. 2022 Jan 9;14(1):e21040. doi: 10.7759/cureus.21040. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

Vishnu Vardhan¹, Chanan Goyal^{2

3}, Jaimini Chaudhari⁴, Vandana Jain⁵, Chaitanya A Kulkarni⁶, Moli Jain¹

Affiliations

¹ Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapy, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND.
² Paediatric Physiotherapy, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND.
³ Paediatric Physiotherapy, Government Physiotherapy College, Raipur, IND.
⁴ Physiotherapy, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Ahmednagar, IND.
⁵ Radiation Oncology, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences, Ahmednagar, IND.
⁶ Community Physiotherapy, Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, IND.

Abstract

Introduction Dance movement therapy (DMT) is a movement-based psychosocial intervention that incorporates the therapeutic components of dance movements and group psychotherapy. DMT, also known as creative movement therapy (CMT) is a psychotherapy used as a complementary therapy in cancer care. It helps in enhancing mood, emotions, self-expression and helps to rebuild self-confidence. Besides, it allows the patients to recognise their own strengths and weaknesses as well as helps to improve physical capabilities. Methods By simple random sampling method, 30 breast cancer patients were recruited at Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, Maharashtra, India. The participants were in the age range of 30-60 years based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Pre-intervention scores of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) were taken using the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI) scale and intervention was given for 45 minutes each day for 5 days a week, over a span of 2 weeks. Thereafter, post-intervention assessment was done and the scores were noted. Pre-intervention and post-intervention scores were compared using paired t-test. Results The mean and standard deviation (SD) of pre- and post-BFI scores derived by using paired t-test was 73.76 (8.6) and 69.33 (9.8), respectively, with a p-value of < 0.001, which is highly significant. Conclusion The results of the present study revealed that DMT seems to be effective in reducing some amount of CRF in breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. Besides, it turned out to be an engaging, entertaining and cost-effective approach. The investigation showed that DMT appears to be beneficial in reducing the side effects of radiation therapy such as pain, stress, anxiety and fear, giving a psychotherapeutic relief but did not completely remove the persistent fatigue experienced by the breast cancer patients. Thus, further investigation with long-term follow-up is recommended.

Keywords: breast cancer; brief fatigue inventory; cancer-related fatigue; creative movement therapy; dance movement therapy; physiotherapy; radiation therapy.