Introduction Breast cancer survivors with secondary upper limb lymphoedema (ULL) may report a wide range of self‐reported symptoms. At the moment, no overview of ULL‐specific symptoms is available. The first aim, therefore, was to compare the prevalence rates of self‐reported signs and symptoms in people with and without secondary ULL due to breast cancer treatment. The second aim was to determine whether symptoms of lymphoedema could be predictive for the development of ULL. The third aim was to describe the association between the presence/severity of symptoms and the presence/severity of ULL. Methods A systematic search was conducted in Medline, Scopus, CINAHL and EMBASE databases, with key words related to breast cancer, symptoms and ULL. Results Twenty‐nine articles were eligible. The most frequently reported signs and symptoms were swelling (80.9%) and heaviness (66.7%) in the ULL group and tenderness (37%) and numbness (27%) in the non‐ULL group. Perceived larger arm size, as well as feelings of arm tightness, stiffness, puffiness, pain, sensory disturbances and functional changes were predictive for the development of ULL. Moderate correlations were found between the presence of swelling, firmness in the past year and tightness now and severity of ULL. There was also moderate correlation between the presence of swelling and heaviness now and the presence of ULL. Conclusions Swelling and heaviness are the most commonly reported symptoms in patients with ULL. The presences of these two symptoms are moderately correlated with the presence and/or severity of ULL. Although limited information regarding the predictive self‐reported symptoms for the development of ULL was found. Further research with standardised definitions of ULL and validated questionnaires for self‐reported signs and symptoms are needed to confirm which signs and symptoms are related to ULL and which to other upper limb morbidities.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of abdominal massage on the severity of constipation, bowel function, and quality of life (QoL) in patients with functional chronic constipation in a randomized placebo-controlled design. Methods: Seventy-four patients diagnosed with functional constipation according to the Rome IV diagnostic criteria were included. Patients were randomly assigned to the intervention group (abdominal massage plus lifestyle advice) or the control group (placebo therapeutic ultrasound plus lifestyle advice). Abdominal massage or placebo ultrasound was applied for 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Constipation Severity Instrument score. Bowel diary data and the Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire score were used as secondary outcome measures. Differences in outcome measures within and between groups were analyzed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Results: Although constipation severity, bowel function indicators (defecation frequency and duration and stool consistency), and QoL were found to improve significantly over time in both groups, improvements in both primary and secondary outcomes were much more significant in the abdominal massage group. In addition, group × time interaction effects were found to be significant for constipation severity, bowel function findings, and QoL. There were approximately 70% and 28% reductions in constipation severity, 56% and 38% improvement rates in QoL, and 70% and 43% increases in defecation frequency in the intervention and placebo groups, respectively. Conclusion: Abdominal massage should be one of the first-line conservative approaches in the management of functional chronic constipation. Further randomized placebo-controlled studies with long-term follow-up are needed. Impact: For functional constipation, which is a common gastrointestinal problem, abdominal massage should be considered as an option in first-line therapy because of its effect beyond the placebo effect. Lay Summary: If you have functional constipation, your physical therapist may be able to provide abdominal massage to help reduce your symptoms.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of connective tissue manipulation (CTM) on the severity of constipation and health-related quality of life in individuals diagnosed with chronic constipation. Fifty patients with a diagnosis of chronic constipation according to Rome III criteria were recruited and randomized to an intervention (n = 25) or control group (n = 25). The intervention group received CTM in addition to the lifestyle advice, whereas the control group was given only lifestyle advice for constipation. All assessments were performed at baseline and at the end of 4 weeks. The primary outcome measure was the Constipation Severity Instrument. Secondary outcomes included Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire, Bristol Stool Scale, and 7-day bowel diary. Differences between groups were analyzed with t tests, Mann-Whitney U test and χ(2) test. Compared with the control group, subjects in the intervention group reported significantly greater improvement in total and subscale scores of the Constipation Severity Instrument and Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire (P < .05). Based on the results from bowel diaries, the improvements in the number of bowel movements, duration of defecation, stool consistency, and the feeling of incomplete evacuation in the intervention group were also significantly more than the control group (P < .05). This study showed that CTM and lifestyle advice were superior to reducing symptoms of constipation and quality of life compared with lifestyle advice alone for patients with chronic constipation.

To pilot feasibility and assess preliminary effectiveness of standard and culture-sensitive Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) among Hausa-speaking patients with Chronic Neck Pain (CNP).Adverts (onl...