Study of AI-Guided Physiotherapy to Improve Mouth, Shoulder, and Physical Function in Adults with Oral Cancer

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate the effects of AI-based physiotherapy on oral function, shoulder function, whole-body physical function, and quality of life in patients with oral cancer. The study will enroll 100 newly diagnosed oral cancer patients before they begin surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy to compare AI-guided physiotherapy with usual care. It focuses on important measures such as mouth opening, joint movement, pain, endurance, and upper extremity function to understand how these therapies impact recovery and daily life. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups an experimental group receiving 12 weeks of AI-guided physiotherapy and a control group receiving conventional physiotherapy as usual care. Both groups will perform jaw, neck, and shoulder range of motion exercises and scapular-focused exercises for 30 minutes once a week. The experimental group will use a mobile app to guide exercises, monitor progress, and keep exercise diaries. Additional scar management using massage and jaw mobilization with devices is also included. Throughout the study, participants will be assessed at baseline, before starting interventions, and three months after finishing the therapy. Evaluations will include maximum mouth opening, shoulder joint range of motion, pain levels, endurance through a 6-minute walk test, upper extremity function using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand DASH questionnaire, and quality of life using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. These measurements will help understand the impact of AI-based physiotherapy on physical functions and overall wellbeing.

AI-based Physiotherapy for Oral Cancer Patients