XIII National Congress SISMES - Feasibility and efficacy of an adapted physical activity protocol during COVID-19 pandemic: lower limb functional and strength recovery in a young athlete affected by cutaneous melanoma

Purpose: Adapted physical activity (APA) can improve psy- chophysical wellbeing and quality of life (QoL) in cancer survivors, a vulnerable population requiring a global management, especially during the recent pandemic. On this basis, we investigated for the first time the impact of a tailored APA intervention on a 18-year- old female athlete affected by melanoma in counteracting treatment sequelae and promoting lower limb functional and strength recovery. Methods: The young competitive volleyball player was evaluated at baseline and post-protocol by a test battery focusing on mobility, muscle strength measured by dynamometry, and lower limb girths assessed at specific anatomical points. Moreover, health-related QoL, depression/anxiety, psychological distress and pain intensity were evaluated by FACT-M, HADS, distress thermometer, and NRS questionnaires, respectively. APA protocol, conceived as a symmetric total body training, was designed as a mixed supervised and self- administered session program focused on subject specific needs, aiming to promote autonomy, self-efficacy, body consciousness, and training environment safety. Results: An almost doubled up increase in lower limb strength, along with hip mobility improvement, and post-surgical edema and pain reduction were observed following the protocol. Concerning the QoL assessment, although depression state worsened, an improvement in physical and emotional wellbeing was detected post- intervention. Conclusions: Our findings show that a specialist-supervised struc- tured APA protocol based on a patient-centered multidisciplinary approach may represent an effective strategy to recover functional and psychophysical efficiency, thus promoting a quickly return to daily life activities and offering a concrete chance of resuming competitive sport practice.