Role of Prehabilitation and Rehabilitation on Functional Recovery and Quality of Life in Thyroid Cancer Patients: A Comprehensive Review

SIMPLE SUMMARY: This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of the prehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies to manage thyroid cancer survivors, focusing on optimizing functional outcomes and enhancing their quality of life. The review highlights the importance of physical exercise in the rehabilitation process to improve cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, and body composition, as well as to reduce fatigue. Scar management techniques, including soft tissue mobilization, silicone sheets, kinesiotaping, and laser therapy, can enhance functional recovery and cosmetic outcomes. Moreover, addressing dysphonia and dysphagia is crucial for improving the overall quality of life of these patients. Despite several barriers which still affect this multimodal rehabilitative approach, digital innovation might be an effective and sustainable tool with which to implement patient-centered management into the clinical setting. This review provides valuable insights into the current prehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies for thyroid cancer survivors, covering physical and psychological needs to optimize the functional outcomes and enhance the quality of life of these patients. ABSTRACT: Background: This narrative review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current prehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies for thyroid cancer survivors to optimize functional outcomes and enhance their quality of life. Methods: The review follows the SANRA quality criteria and includes an extensive literature search conducted in PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus. Results: The review emphasizes the role of a comprehensive rehabilitation approach in targeting the different domains that generate disability in thyroid cancer patients. In this context, physical activity, range of motion exercises, myofascial release, joint mobilization, and postural exercises are crucial for improving functional outcomes and reducing treatment-related discomfort and disability. Moreover, tailored rehabilitative management addressing dysphonia and dysphagia might have a positive impact on the quality of life of these patients. Despite these considerations, several barriers still affect the implementation of a multimodal rehabilitative approach in common clinical practice. Thus, sustainable and effective strategies like digital innovation and patient-centered approaches are strongly needed in order to implement the rehabilitative treatment framework of these subjects. Conclusions: This narrative review provides valuable insights into the current prehabilitation and rehabilitation strategies to treat thyroid cancer survivors, addressing physical, psychological, and vocational needs to optimize functional outcomes and enhance their quality of life.