A mastectomy is a highly invasive, serious surgical procedure, and as such it will require heavy amounts of therapy and properly supervised and designed exercises during the months of recovery. As with any major surgery that affects main moving areas, a mastectomy is likely to require a rehabilitation program to regain proper movement and strength in the weeks after surgery. Working with a physical therapist to ensure proper technique, there are several exercises you can learn and perform to help heal fully in the stages following surgery.
Initial Recovery
During the initial stages of healing and rehab, it's important to not overexert the surgical area. Doing so could inhibit proper healing and cause large amounts of pain, so it's best to focus on smaller exercises that work the hands and elbows more than the chest and shoulders.
Hand and wrist strengthening exercises with little to no resistance are excellent starting points. Gently squeeze your hand closed and hold it tight for several seconds before relaxing. Repeat this several times.
As you progress through the initial days and weeks of your healing you can add some resistance to this simple exercise, by squeezing a stress-relief ball or a heavy hand-strengthening sandbag. These bags are essentially latex or rubber balls filled with heavy sand or synthetic material that is difficult to easily squeeze, providing resistance for hand exercises. You can also lightly work the wrist during this phase by gently moving it back and forth, holding it for several seconds at each position. This won't strengthen the area so much as stretch it and help regain pain-free movement in the wrist and up the forearm.
As you get past the initial week or so from your surgery you can begin to incorporate light elbow exercises as well. For the rest of this initial stage these exercises should involve nothing beyond some simple elbow extensions, more to regain movement rather than to strengthen. Bend both elbows so your hands are raised to your head. Gently extend one arm at a time, holding it in front of you at full extension for several seconds before bending it back. Then do the same with the other arm. Repeat several times. Resist the temptation to add any weight to this exercise, as doing so too early in your recovery could harm the surgery area.
Later Rehab
As your rehab from surgery progresses into the next month, you can begin to experiment with exercises that work additional areas of the upper body. At this point you can involve the shoulders and chest much more. Again, you should focus initially on regaining movement more than on strengthening with weights or resistance.
Several good exercises to accomplish this with the shoulder area involve lying flat on your back. From this position, have your arms extended at your sides with the palms facing up. Then extend one arm straight up so your hand is directly above your face. Hold it there for several seconds before lowering. Repeat with the other arm.
An even better exercise, and a good indicator of how far along in your healing you are, also begins with lying flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head, with your elbows bent and pointed straight up toward the ceiling. Next, slowly lower your elbows to the floor while keeping your hands firmly locked behind your head. This movement will have your arms, still bent, moving slowly parallel to the floor. Depending on how far along in healing and rehab you are, you might be unable to move your elbows all the way to the floor. This is a good exercise to repeat frequently as you heal, as it works the affected chest area very well and helps continuously build movement in the area as the muscles restrengthen.
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