There was no difference between the effect of late- and early-initiated exercise intervention .
Exercise has a small-to-moderate effect at short-term follow-up on exercise capacity and the physical component of health-related quality of life in patients operated for lung cancer .
The long-term effects of exercise capacity are unknown .
Early-initiated exercise programmes ( 2 weeks post-operation ) did not show an effect on exercise capacity .
OBJECTIVE To review the evidence concerning the effects of  postoperative exercise interventions  on exercise capacity and health-related quality of life  following resection for non-small cell lung cancer , and to review whether different initiation times of exercise produce different effects on exercise capacity .
[Effects of a progressive walking program on physical activity, exercise tolerance, recovery, and post-operative complications in patients with a lung resection].
PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of a Progressive Walking program ( PW ) on physical activity , exercise tolerance , recovery , and post-operative complications for patients with a lung resection . METHODS A nonequivalent control group non-synchronized design was utilized and 37 participants with a lung resection ( 22 for control group , 15 for experimental group ) were recruited at A university hospital from December 2012 to August 2013 .  The PW consisted of preoperative education , goal setting , and feedback , provided to the experimental group , and usual care to the control group . Data were analyzed using the SPSS WIN 18.0 . RESULTS A higher proportion of patients in the experimental group showed adequate levels of physical activity ( p=.001 ) , shorter period of chest tube retention ( ≤ 7 days ; p=.011 ) , and shorter stay in the hospital ( ≤ 10 days ; p=.036 ) than patients in the control group . Patients in the experimental group reported longer 6-minute walking distance ( p=.032 ) and lower levels of dyspnea ( p=.049 ) than patients in the control group . The PW  did not influence the occurrence of pulmonary complications . CONCLUSION The findings of this study suggest that the PW could be a useful strategy for improving patients ' post-operative health and reducing cost after lung resection
There was no difference between the effect of late- and early-initiated exercise intervention .
Exercise has a small-to-moderate effect at short-term follow-up on exercise capacity and the physical component of health-related quality of life in patients operated for lung cancer .
The long-term effects of exercise capacity are unknown .
Early-initiated exercise programmes ( 2 weeks post-operation ) did not show an effect on exercise capacity .
OBJECTIVE To review the evidence concerning the effects of  postoperative exercise interventions  on exercise capacity and health-related quality of life  following resection for non-small cell lung cancer , and to review whether different initiation times of exercise produce different effects on exercise capacity .