Physical Therapy After Mastectomy To Restore Movement

Physical therapy after mastectomy serves for someone who has undergone breast surgery (especially mastectomy) so as not to affect daily activities. Sometimes after someone undergoes a mastectomy it will affect the movement of the person shoulder, arm, or affect when the person breathe. Exercise will help someone to reduce the side effects caused due to a person undergoing a mastectomy. 

Mastectomy is one type of surgery performed on the breast with the aim to remove all breast tissue as a step to treat or prevent breast cancer. mastectomy may be a good choice for someone who has breast cancer but were still at early-stage. At this time mastectomy has a newer surgery method, the latest surgery techniques called as skin-sparing mastectomy. This new method allows preserving the breast skin despite the fact that mastectomy had done, through several procedures. Nevertheless, physical therapy after mastectomy is still needed after this surgery. In addition, there is also a surgery that aims to restore or shape of the breast as the original (before surgery). This surgery is referred to as breast reconstruction surgery. Sometimes when someone does a mastectomy, the breast shape will often be different from the original before surgery. Breast reconstruction surgery aims to overcome it.

Physical therapy after mastectomy helps a person to able to get back the daily activities. Especially if a person undergoing radiation therapy. Radiation therapy can affect a person's recovery period. Someone who underwent radiation therapy tend to recover much longer, so the recovery period should be supported with physical exercise to speed up the recovery. To perform physical therapy after mastectomy, it's necessary to have coordination with the doctors. This is because there are some exercises that may be undertaken by someone, but there are some exercises that should not be undertaken. For example, some exercises should not be undertaken before the sutures removed.  Besides, there are some exercises that are not allowed to be done by someone who has undergone a mastectomy, before their surgical wounds dry.

The following are some common exercise done by someone post breast surgery. But the exercises below only serves as a reference. You can do physical therapy after mastectomy mentioned below only if you have got the approval of a doctor.

1. The first exercise is to use a hand, the location where the operation is performed, to perform daily activities as usual. Daily activities in question are such as eating, drinking, brushing hair, bathing, dressing, and so forth. At first, you may feel uncomfortable or less familiar. But it is important to do so that the muscles were affected after the surgery used to.
2. The next exercise is to lie down and raise your hands (the location where the operation is performed) above the position of the heart. Maintain that position for 45 minutes. This exercise should be done 2 or 3 times a day if you have spare time. It is recommended to put the arm on pillows (or something like it) so that your hand is in higher position than your wrist. It is intended to reduce the pain or swelling that you feel, which is a side effect after surgery.
3. When you were in the position described in number 2, you can simultaneously perform this third practice. When your hands are still on the positions of your heart, you can move your palms and your fingers with the open and close movements. This movement should be done about 15 to 20 times when you're in that position. The next motion is to bend and straighten your elbow. You can make a move to straighten and bend the elbow as many as 3 or 4 times. This movement helps reduce the swelling you feel. 
4.  Next physical therapy after mastectomy was doing deep breathing using the diaphragm. You should perform this exercise six times in one day. The first thing you have to do is lie down. Then make your body feels relaxed as much as possible for this exercise. The next inhale slowly and deeply. Inhale as much as you can to relieve the lungs and your diaphragm. Then exhale with relaxing. You can repeat the exercise movements around 5 times to help maintain the chest area while in a moving condition.
5. The next suggestion is that you need to keep your hands (the location where the surgery is performed) remains in a higher position. The thing to avoid is the lying position under the affected hand. This case, if neglected will result in pain.

Besides the exercises mentioned above, actually, there are many types of exercises that can be done by someone that undergoing a mastectomy. But it will be safer to be discussed it with your doctor. Exercise mentioned above is physical therapy after mastectomy that can be done in about 4 weeks after surgery.

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