Quality of life of oncology patients and patients with musculoskeletal diseases before and after physiotherapy rehabilitation

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to compare the quality of life of
oncology patients and patients with musculoskeletal diseases before and after physiotherapy rehabilitation.
Materials and methods: The study involved patients
who attended regular outpatient physical therapy at the
Clinical Hospital “Sestre milosrdnice”, Clinic for Rheumatology, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation, located at the Clinic for Tumors, Ilica 197 in Zagreb. Based on the referral diagnosis of oncological or musculoskeletal disease, they were divided into two therapeutic groups, each with its own specific type of physiotherapy. Patients in both groups completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 Questionnaire version 3.0 before and after the 10 working-day physiotherapy cycle, as an indicator of self-assessment of quality-of-life dimensions.
Results: 74 patients participated in the study, 35 in the oncological group and 39 in the musculoskeletal control
group. Both patient groups have impaired quality of life.
Physical functioning improves significantly with physiotherapy in both groups. Emotional functioning improves significantly in the control group under physiotherapy. Subjective self-assessment of health status and quality of life improved in the oncology group receiving physiotherapy, whereas it improved significantly in the control group.
Conclusions: The results indicate the importance of
the patients’ role and opinions on the quality of life of
patients with oncological and musculoskeletal diagnoses, as well as the analysis of differences and similarities in their self-assessments.