Shraddha Baldania
DPT Enjoy Rehab PT PC, New York, USA
Abstract Title:
Exploring the Impact of Physical Therapy on Patient Outcomes Across the Cancer Care Continuum: A Narrative Review
Biography:
Shraddha Baldania is a licensed physical therapist in New York with advanced training in
physical rehabilitation and preventive medicine. She holds a Doctorate degree in Physical
Therapy and has substantial clinical and research experience. Her scholarly interests
include evidence-based rehabilitation, clinical outcomes research, neurodiversity, and
healthcare education. She actively contributes to the academic peer-review process as a
reviewer for international peer-reviewed journals. Her professional focus is on promoting
methodological rigor, ethical publishing practices, and the dissemination of high-quality
research in rehabilitation and health sciences.
Research Interests:
Cancer and its treatments frequently lead to functional impairments, physical limitations, and
reduced quality of life (QOL), posing significant challenges for patients across the cancer care
continuum. Physical therapy (PT) is a critical intervention to mitigate these effects, from
diagnosis through survivorship and palliative care. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on
PT's role in improving functional capacity, managing treatment-related side effects, and
enhancing overall well-being in cancer patients and survivors. A comprehensive literature search
was conducted on PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar using specific keywords and
Boolean operators to identify peer-reviewed studies on PT interventions across all cancer care
phases. Findings highlight that structured PT interventions, including prehabilitation, exercise
programs, and specialized techniques like complete decongestive therapy, significantly reduce
pain, fatigue, lymphedema, and deconditioning while improving mobility and QOL. For
example, prehabilitation enhanced surgical outcomes in functional capacity, and PT during
treatment reduced cancer-related fatigue. The review also underscores PT's psychosocial
benefits, such as reduced anxiety and depression, and its cost-effectiveness in long-term cancer
rehabilitation. However, challenges like inconsistent integration, limited access, and lack of
standardized referral pathways persist. Multidisciplinary collaboration and early PT integration
are essential to optimize outcomes. This review advocates for evidence-based PT strategies to
enhance patient outcomes and QOL, emphasizing the need for further research to address
implementation barriers and standardize protocols.
