CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 578Lymphatic System and DiseasesCancer survivorship and careBreast Cancer Treatment Studies

Weight lifting in women with breast-cancer-related lymphedema

Open access
Schmitz, Kathryn H., Ahmed, Rehana L., Troxel, Andrea, Cheville, Andrea, Smith, Rebecca, Lewis-Grant, Lorita, Bryan, Cathy J., Williams-Smith, Catherine T. +1 more·2009·New England Journal of Medicine
DOI 10.1056/nejmoa0810118
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Weight lifting has generally been proscribed for women with breast-cancer-related lymphedema, preventing them from obtaining the well-established health benefits of weight lifting, including increases in bone density. METHODS: We performed a randomized, controlled trial of twice-weekly progressive weight lifting involving 141 breast-cancer survivors with stable lymphedema of the arm. The primary outcome was the change in arm and hand swelling at 1 year, as measured through displaced water volume of the affected and unaffected limbs. Secondary outcomes included the incidence of exacerbations of lymphedema, number and severity of lymphedema symptoms, and muscle strength. Participants were required to wear a well-fitted compression garment while weight lifting. RESULTS: The proportion of women who had an increase of 5% or more in limb swelling was similar in the weight-lifting group (11%) and the control group (12%) (cumulative incidence ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.88 to 1.13). As compared with the control group, the weight-lifting group had greater improvements in self-reported severity of lymphedema symptoms (P=0.03) and upper- and lower-body strength (P<0.001 for both comparisons) and a lower incidence of lymphedema exacerbations as assessed by a certified lymphedema specialist (14% vs. 29%, P=0.04). There were no serious adverse events related to the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: In breast-cancer survivors with lymphedema, slowly progressive weight lifting had no significant effect on limb swelling and resulted in a decreased incidence of exacerbations of lymphedema, reduced symptoms, and increased strength. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00194363.)

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1056/nejmoa0810118

Cites

27 of 27 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • A supervised progressive resistance training program focused on large muscle groups, performed 2-3 times per week with a "start low, progress slow" principle, is safe for upper extremity breast cancer-related lymphedema.

    “For resistance training, a general progressive program focused on large muscle groups performed 2–3 times per week, with the principle of “start low, progress slow” is safe when supervised by a fitness professional(38–42).”

    From Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Consensus Statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable (2019) · cites this paper as [38]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Warren AG, Brorson H, Borud LJ, 4. Slavin SA. Lymphedema: a comprehensive review. Ann Plast Surg 2007;59:464-72.
  2. King TI II. The effect of water tem- 21. perature on hand volume during volumet- ric measurement using the water displace- ment method. J Hand Ther 1993;6:202-4.
  3. Shaw CE, McCully KK, Posner JD. In- assessment in the elderly. J Cardiopulm Rehabil 1995;15:283-7.
  4. Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjöström M, et 27. al. International Physical Activity Ques- tionnaire: 12-country reliability and valid- ity. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2003;35:1381- 95.
  5. Challenging the myth of exercise-induced lymphedema following breast cancer: a series of case reports. J Surg Oncol 2000; 74:95-9.
  6. Johansson K, Tibe K, Weibull A, New- 35. ton RC. Low intensity resistance exercise for breast cancer patients with arm lymph- edema with or without compression sleeve. Lymphology 2005;38:167-80.
  7. Bourgeois P, Leduc O, Leduc A. Man- 40. ual of lymphatic drainage: scintigraphic demonstration of its efficacy on colloidal protein resorption. In: Progress in lym- phology. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science, 1988:551-4.
  8. Brennan MJ, Miller LT. Overview of 41. treatment options and review of the cur- rent role and use of compression garments, intermittent pumps, and exercise in the management of lymphedema. Cancer 1998; 83:Suppl:2821-7.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Schmitz, K. H., Ahmed, R. L., Troxel, A., Cheville, A., Smith, R., Lewis-Grant, L., Bryan, C. J., Williams-Smith, C. T., & Greene, Q. P.
Affiliations
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Abramson Cancer Center (US)
  • Mayo Clinic (US)
ORCID
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Publisher
Massachusetts Medical Society
Published
2009-08-13
Volume
361
Issue
7
Pages
664-673
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
DOI
10.1056/nejmoa0810118
OpenAlex
W2149447033
Cited by
578
References
27
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 37 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 41 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 33 · 2012: 56
FWCI
24.30
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Pennsylvania
  • National Cancer Institute (R01CA106851)
  • National Center for Research Resources (UL1RR024134)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Lymphatic System and Diseases
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Oncology › Cancer survivorship and care
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Breast Cancer Treatment Studies
Keywords
weightlifting, breast cancer-related lymphedema, arm lymphedema, limb swelling, muscle strength, exercise therapy, compression garments, breast cancer survivors, bone mineral density
MeSH terms
Breast Neoplasms, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Humans, Lymphedema, Mastectomy, Middle Aged, Postoperative Complications, Weight Lifting, Treatment Outcome, Muscle Strength

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review