Cancer Pain & Fatigue

Physical therapy is a complimentary treatment that is used as a part of the rehabilitation process for cancer patients, who typically experience pain and fatigue as a result of the disease. Cancer pain and fatigue may be caused by a variety of factors including: the disease itself, cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, chemotherapy-induced anemia, stress and anxiety, medication, poor nutrition, hormonal changes, a lack of sleep or a lack of exercise.

One of the most common physical therapy treatment methods for cancer patients is therapeutic exercise. An exercise therapy program consists of a variety of activities, including flexibility training, strength training and cardiovascular training. A therapeutic exercise program can benefit you in many ways, throughout the cancer treatment and cancer rehabilitation process. Even a minimal level of exercise will help to increase your muscle flexion and heart rate, while increasing your body’s tolerance for radiation therapy and chemotherapy, two of the most common treatments for cancer. Therapeutic massage may also be used by your physical therapist, to help reduce the stress, anxiety, pain and fatigue that you experience, as a cancer patient.

Cancer pain and fatigue may be triggered by a variety of acute or chronic conditions, which are related to the disease. When surgery is used as a cancer treatment method, it’s a certainty that you will experience pain during the recovery process, and are also likely to have some level of pain the area on a long-term basis, such as phantom pain, which frequently occurs when a body part like a breast, leg or arm has been amputated.

Cancerous tumors also cause pain in cancer patients as they grow, creating excessive pressure which adversely impacts the nerves, bones and organs, in areas near the tumor. Spinal cord compression is one example of this type of tumor related pain. You may also experience cancer pain and fatigue, as the result of infected lymph nodes, cancer tests such as biopsies, or cancer in the bones. The chemotherapy and radiation therapy that you are likely to receive as a cancer patient, may also cause you to experience chronic pain and fatigue.

Please contact us if you would like more information about our cancer pain & fatigue treatment program.