PURPOSE: To investigate mirror therapy (MT) influence on shoulder pain/disability and quality of life in mastectomy women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty unilateral mastectomy women were recruited and randomly assigned to an MT group (n = 30) or a sham therapy (ST) (n = 30). Women in the MT and ST group attended a nurse-led, unsupervised, 30 min a day, five days a week, and at home training program for three weeks with and without a mirror, respectively. Shoulder pain and disability scale and QOL outcomes were assessed at baseline and 3 months after intervention. RESULTS: Shoulder pain and disability were significantly improved in the MT group but there was not meaningful difference between groups in the EORTC-QOL scales except for some functional scores of QLQ-BR23 scale in the MT group after 3 months follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses should instruct MT as a rehabilitation program to mastectomy patients during or after hospitalization to reduce their post-op shoulder pain and disability. This intervention may have also positive impact on their self-care outcomes. It is recommended that further studies should be performed with nurse-supervised exercises, a validated tool for measuring QOL for a long period after surgery, and a longer follow-up period at least for 6 months.

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