After about 4-5 weeks my surgeon cleared me to start stretching my arms and raising them overhead for the first time after having the double mastectomy with reconstruction. After being unable to use or raise my arms above my head for 5 weeks and with the amount of swelling and tissue removal, it took some time to be able to get full range of motion back. Since the breast cancer was in the right breast, the surgeon did a sentinel lymph node biopsy on the right side during surgery. So there was more swelling and tightness on the right side (mostly in the armpit area). Over the next few weeks I would spend an hour or more each day just stretching out my arms, pushing a little further each day. I wanted to get full range of motion back before adding in weight lifting and strength training because I didn’t want to make it tighter than it already was. I was also experiencing “cording” (axillary web syndrome) where it feels like there is a tight cord running from your armpit to your hand. It is a common side effect after breast surgery or lymph node biopsy. This required extra stretching, deep scar tissue massage (painful) and nerve glide exercises. After several weeks, my plastic surgeon even recommended a steroid shot to help break up the scar tissue. This steroid shot did help a little bit but it also turned my skin blue-ish. Interesting…
After several weeks of patience, stretching, scar tissue massage and nerve glides I was able to get full range of motion and then I was able to start lifting weights again. Starting from scratch was hard, but I knew I had to start somewhere and I was happy to be back at it. I started out slow (especially with chest press, pull up and more strenuous lifts) however I was just grateful to move my body again. The hardest part was my endurance and my lung capacity. Walking short distances was still very hard for me to catch my breath. It took months for me to recover my lung capacity and eventually be able to run again.
Mandafit 