A study recently published in the European Journal of Surgical Oncology found that feedback from wearable activity trackers may help patients recover more quickly after breast cancer surgery.
Physical therapy is an important component of recovery, as breast cancer surgery commonly leads to reduced mobility in the upper body, which can affect quality of life.
For the study, researchers investigated whether providing real-time feedback from wearable devices could improve recovery outcomes following surgery for breast cancer. They recruited 20 individuals undergoing surgery for breast cancer and divided them into two groups.
One group was given a goal of 60 minutes of upper-body movement per day with basic feedback from the mobile app connected to the activity tracker. The other group, referred to as the “dynamic feedback” group, received daily activity goals tailored to their personal recovery by their clinician, as well as motivational feedback.
The study also included a control group of 29 patients who were treated in a previous study and also wore activity trackers but did not receive feedback or behavioral support.
Researchers tracked changes in physical activity over time to assess recovery progress. They also examined how quickly patients returned to their pre-surgery activity levels and how consistently they increased their movement during the weeks after surgery.
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The results showed that the dynamic feedback group increased their daily movement more quickly and returned to their baseline activity level faster than the basic feedback group and those who did not receive any feedback.
“The comparison between dynamic and basic-feedback highlights the importance of tailored goals and clinician input in supporting recovery,” the researchers wrote. “Although both groups used identical hardware, only dynamic-feedback participants received adaptive targets aligned with their progress, resulting in a faster return to baseline. This indicates that behavioural engagement is central to postoperative functional improvement.”
The authors note that more research is needed to determine long-term benefits, cost-effectiveness and how wearable monitoring can be best integrated into routine care.
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