Guided motor imagery and deep breathing exercises on radiation therapy-induced fatigue in head and neck cancer patients

Objective: To compare the effects of guided motor imagery and deep breathing exercises on radiation therapy-induced fatigue in head and neck cancer patients with those of conventional physiotherapy interventions. Aims: To evaluate the impact of guided motor imagery and deep breathing exercises on fatigue caused by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer. Setting: Participants experiencing radiation therapy-induced fatigue were recruited from a tertiary care hospital in South India. Design: The study was conducted as a single-blinded randomized controlled trial. Methodology: A total of forty-two patients participated in the study. They were randomized using the opaque sealed envelope method and assessed by a blinded evaluator. Group A (n = 21) received guided motor imagery, deep breathing exercises, and conventional physiotherapy, while Group B (n = 21) received only conventional physiotherapy. The interventions were administered three times a week over a period of three weeks. The Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) was evaluated on both the first and last days of treatment. Results: An independent sample ‘t’ test was used for between-group analysis, revealing a post-test P value of <0.05 for the physical, affective, and cognitive subscales, as well as the total score of the Cancer Fatigue Scale. Conclusion: Combining guided motor imagery and deep breathing exercises with conventional physiotherapy led to statistically significant improvements in reducing fatigue induced by radiation therapy in patients with head and neck cancer.