Post MastectomyNCT07002983
Motor Control Retraining Exercises on Shoulder Dysfunction Post Mastectomy
A study testing traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction in people with Post Mastectomy, run by Cairo University at 1 site in Egypt.
Trial summary
Motor control and strengthening exercises can improve function in shoulder impingement patients by realigning the scapula and changing muscle recruitment patterns. Peripheral musculoskeletal impairments can be associated with cortical reorganisation. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 40 to 55 years, women only
- Conditions the study is for
- Post Mastectomy
- What is being tested?
- traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction
- Type of treatment
- Pill or oral medicine
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 1 siteEgypt
- Study dates
- 5 May 2025to 5 Oct 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 40 to 55 years
- Women only
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- The subject selection will be according to the following criteria:
- Female patients with age range between 40-55 years.
- All patients have shoulder dysfunction.
- Patients were 2 months to 4 months post modified radical mastectomy or axillary lymph node dissection.
- Patients received their radiotherapy or chemotherapy or both.
Who cannot join
- The potential participants will be excluded if they meet one of the following criteria:
- Rheumatoid arthritis.
- History of trauma or accidental injuries.
- Neurological involvement (stroke, Parkinsonism).
- History of surgery on involved shoulder.
- Diabetic patient.
- Moderate and severe lymphoedema.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: Motor Control Retraining Exercises On Shoulder Dysfunction Post Mastectomy
Motor control and strengthening exercises can improve function in shoulder impingement patients by realigning the scapula and changing muscle recruitment patterns. Peripheral musculoskeletal impairments can be associated with cortical reorganisation. Movement retraining using the principles of motor control retrain muscle recruitment patterns and improve scapular kinematics, reducing subacromial impingement, thus improving function and reducing pain.
Furthermore, the need of this study is developed from the lack in the quantitative knowledge and information in the published studies about the effect of motor control retraining exercises on shoulder dysfunction post-mastectomy.
Read the detailed description
sixty patients suffering from post-mastectomy shoulder dysfunction will participate in this study. Their ages will range from 40 to 55 years. The participants will be selected from Cairo university hospitals.
Design of the study:
In this randomised controlled trial study (RCT), the patients will be randomly assigned into two equal groups (30 patients for each group):
Group A (study group):
This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive motor control retraining exercises in addition to their conventional physical therapy program, three sessions per week for 8 weeks, for 45:60 minutes according to patient's ability.
Group B (control group):
This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive conventional physical therapy program in the form of shoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises) for 30 minutes according to patient's ability, three sessions per week for 8 weeks.
Measurement equipment:
- Hand-held dynamometer: for measurement of muscle strength.
- Digital inclinometer: for measurement of shoulder flexion, abduction and scapular upward rotation.
- Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI): for measurement of shoulder disability.
Therapeutic procedures:
- Motor control retraining exercises of the scapular musculature.
Motor control retraining exercises:
The motor control retraining package was targeted at correcting movement impairments of the scapula by re-educating muscle recruitment. There were two components to the package:
- Motor control exercises to correct alignment and coordination, which involve a) learning optimal scapular orientation at rest and then controlling optimal orientation during active arm movements; b) muscle specific exercises for trapezius and serratus anterior
- Manual therapy techniques commonly used in clinical practice to manage symptoms, as trigger point therapy and pectoralis minor supine manual stretch will be performed as necessary.
- Traditional physical therapy.
- Conditions
- Post Mastectomy
- Being tested
- motor control retraining exercises, traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction
- Keywords
- motor control, shoulder dysfunction, post mastectomy
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
motor control retraining exercisesOther
The motor control retraining package was targeted at correcting movement impairments of the scapula by re-educating muscle recruitment. There were two components to the package:
- Motor control exercises to correct alignment and coordination, which involve a) learning optimal scapular orientation at rest and then controlling optimal orientation during active arm movements; b) muscle specific exercises for trapezius and serratus anterior
- Manual therapy techniques commonly used in clinical practice to manage symptoms, as trigger point therapy and pectoralis minor supine manual stretch will be performed as necessary.
traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunctionOther
Also called conventional treatment
shoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises)
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| study group (motor control retraining group) | Active comparator | This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive motor control retraining exercises in addition to their conventional physical therapy program, three sessions per week for 8 weeks, for 45:60 minutes according to patient's ability Receives: Other: motor control retraining exercises; Other: traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction |
| control group ( conventional treatment group) | Placebo comparator | This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive conventional physical therapy program in the form of shoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises) for 30 minutes according to patient's ability, three sessions per week for 8 weeks Receives: Other: traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Instrumented digital hand-held dynamometer
Hand-held dynamometry (Lafayette manual muscle tester) will be used to measure isometric strength of shoulder flexion and abduction. It is an ergonomic hand-held device for objectively providing reliable, accurate readings that conform to most manual muscle testing protocols. It has good to excellent validity and reliability for most measures of isometric muscle strength particularly for proximal muscle groups.
Measured: 8 weeks
Digital inclinometer
A digital inclinometer is used to measure shoulder flexion, abduction and upward rotation of scapula. It has digital screen that display the angle at which the inclinometer is situated allowing direct joint angle measurements
Measured: 8 weeks
Secondary outcomes (1)
Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI)
The SPADI is a self-administered questionnaire that contains thirteen items which assess two domains (pain and disability) (Shamley et al., 2012). It has an 8-item subscale to evaluate disability and a 5-item subscale to measure pain. Each subscale is summed and transformed to a score out of 100. A mean is taken of the two subscales to give a total score out of 100, higher score indicating greater impairment or disability
Measured: 8 weeks
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted4 Jun 2025
- Study start5 May 2025
- Primary completion5 Oct 2026
- Study completion5 Oct 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Post MastectomyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Cairo UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- the study will be 2 armed, single blind, parallel group, randomized controlled trial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Cairo University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Esraa Tarek Mohamed Hashem, Cairo University
- Investigators
- Esraa Tarek, PhD, Principal investigator, Teaching assistant physical therapy for surgery cairo university
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07002983
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- P.T.REC/012/005751
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 19 May 2025
- Last updated
- 20 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: publication at international journal
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 20 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Motor Control Retraining Exercises On Shoulder Dysfunction Post Mastectomy
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07002983
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- P.T.REC/012/005751
- Conditions
- Post Mastectomy
- Keywords
- motor control, shoulder dysfunction, post mastectomy
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Cairo UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 5 May 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 5 Oct 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 5 Oct 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 4 Jun 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Motor control and strengthening exercises can improve function in shoulder impingement patients by realigning the scapula and changing muscle recruitment patterns. Peripheral musculoskeletal impairments can be associated with cortical reorganisation. Movement retraining using the principles of motor control retrain muscle recruitment patterns and improve scapular kinematics, reducing subacromial impingement, thus improving function and reducing pain.
Furthermore, the need of this study is developed from the lack in the quantitative knowledge and information in the published studies about the effect of motor control retraining exercises on shoulder dysfunction post-mastectomy.
Detailed description
sixty patients suffering from post-mastectomy shoulder dysfunction will participate in this study. Their ages will range from 40 to 55 years. The participants will be selected from Cairo university hospitals.
Design of the study:
In this randomised controlled trial study (RCT), the patients will be randomly assigned into two equal groups (30 patients for each group):
Group A (study group):
This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive motor control retraining exercises in addition to their conventional physical therapy program, three sessions per week for 8 weeks, for 45:60 minutes according to patient's ability.
Group B (control group):
This group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive conventional physical therapy program in the form of shoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises) for 30 minutes according to patient's ability, three sessions per week for 8 weeks.
Measurement equipment:
- Hand-held dynamometer: for measurement of muscle strength.
- Digital inclinometer: for measurement of shoulder flexion, abduction and scapular upward rotation.
- Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI): for measurement of shoulder disability.
Therapeutic procedures:
- Motor control retraining exercises of the scapular musculature.
Motor control retraining exercises:
The motor control retraining package was targeted at correcting movement impairments of the scapula by re-educating muscle recruitment. There were two components to the package:
- Motor control exercises to correct alignment and coordination, which involve a) learning optimal scapular orientation at rest and then controlling optimal orientation during active arm movements; b) muscle specific exercises for trapezius and serratus anterior
- Manual therapy techniques commonly used in clinical practice to manage symptoms, as trigger point therapy and pectoralis minor supine manual stretch will be performed as necessary.
- Traditional physical therapy.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- the study will be 2 armed, single blind, parallel group, randomized controlled trial
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| study group (motor control retraining group) | Active comparator | Other: motor control retraining exercises, Other: traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunctionThis group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive motor control retraining exercises in addition to their conventional physical therapy program, three sessions per week for 8 weeks, for 45:60 minutes according to patient's ability |
| control group ( conventional treatment group) | Placebo comparator | Other: traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunctionThis group will include 30 patients with post mastectomy shoulder dysfunction who will receive conventional physical therapy program in the form of shoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises) for 30 minutes according to patient's ability, three sessions per week for 8 weeks |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 40 to 55 years
- Sex
- Female only
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- The subject selection will be according to the following criteria:
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- The potential participants will be excluded if they meet one of the following criteria:
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| motor control retraining exercisesThe motor control retraining package was targeted at correcting movement impairments of the scapula by re-educating muscle recruitment. There were two components to the package: 1. Motor control exercises to correct alignment and coordination, which involve a) learning optimal scapular orientation at rest and then controlling optimal orientation during active arm movements; b) muscle specific exercises for trapezius and serratus anterior 2. Manual therapy techniques commonly used in clinical practice to manage symptoms, as trigger point therapy and pectoralis minor supine manual stretch will be performed as necessary. | Other | study group (motor control retraining group) |
| traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunctionAlso: conventional treatmentshoulder joint mobilization, posterior capsule stretching and shoulder range of motion exercise (ROM) (Codman's pendulum exercises) | Other | control group ( conventional treatment group), study group (motor control retraining group) |
Primary outcome
Instrumented digital hand-held dynamometer
Time frame: 8 weeks
Hand-held dynamometry (Lafayette manual muscle tester) will be used to measure isometric strength of shoulder flexion and abduction. It is an ergonomic hand-held device for objectively providing reliable, accurate readings that conform to most manual muscle testing protocols. It has good to excellent validity and reliability for most measures of isometric muscle strength particularly for proximal muscle groups.
Digital inclinometer
Time frame: 8 weeks
A digital inclinometer is used to measure shoulder flexion, abduction and upward rotation of scapula. It has digital screen that display the angle at which the inclinometer is situated allowing direct joint angle measurements
1 secondary outcome
Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI)
Time frame: 8 weeks
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 20 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. publication at international journal
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Incentive Spirometry With and Without Transcutaneous Electric Diaphragmatic Stimulation in Post-mastectomy Patients
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Esraa Tarek, PhD principal investigator
Teaching assistant physical therapy for surgery cairo university
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing traditional physical therapy for shoulder dysfunction in people with Post Mastectomy, run by Cairo University at 1 site in Egypt.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 20 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Egypt. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Instrumented digital hand-held dynamometer (time frame: 8 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 20 Oct 2026.