Abstract
Objectives
Unmanaged pain significantly affects cancer survivors’ quality of life. Nurses should
play a significant role in pain management through non-pharmacological interventions.
This review aims to explore the efficacy and safety of breathing exercises for pain
management in all cancer survivors.
Design
A systematic review.
Data sources
Thirteen databases, including PubMed, EMBase, CENTRAL, MEDLINE, CINAHL, JBI, Science
Direct, Scopus, SocINDEX, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CNKI, and Wan Fang, were searched
from inception to May, 2021.
Review/analysis methods
Studies that focused on the efficacy of breathing exercises for pain management, regardless
of the age of the cancer survivors, were included. Cochrane tools were used for the
quality appraisal of the included studies. Because of the limited number of studies,
descriptive data analysis was used to summarize the results.
Results
Ten studies were included. Slow pursed lip breathing showed benefits for post-surgical
pain. Contradictory findings were identified in the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery
for post-surgical pain. Slow deep breathing and Hey-Hu regular breathing techniques
were effective for pain management in pediatric cancer patients. The Active Cycle
of Breathing Technique and five-minute mindful breathing did not have any statistically
significant effects on pain relief. Quality of life was measured in three studies,
with some improvement. Only one study addressed adverse events and reported that no
adverse events occurred.
Conclusions
Breathing exercises may be a promising approach to pain relief in cancer survivors.
However, more rigorously designed studies are required to establish the evidence.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 22, 2022
Accepted:
November 16,
2022
Received in revised form:
November 3,
2022
Received:
March 14,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
