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HOW TO GET BACK TO LIFTING AFTER A MASTECTOMY

By on October 7, 2017
lifting

By Michelle Goldrick

If you’re a woman who lifts weights and find yourself faced with having a mastectomy, you’ll have a lot of research and reading to do. So, for Breast Cancer Awareness month, I wanted to share the top five things I wish I’d known as a woman who strength trains and has had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in December of 2013, and 5 more surgeries since.

When considering these surgeries, of course I was not happy about the prospect of losing muscle and enduring a long recovery. But I was truly desperate for a way out of my situation and knew I had no choice. There’s a whole other set of physical and emotional challenges when you have cancer, but you’re still a woman who lifts, and therefore, we’re sisters.

1. It takes a lot of strength and courage to have a mastectomy, but even more so after. Recovery may be much harder and slower than you imagined. It’ll knock you on your ass even if you’re fit, strong, and well-conditioned. Getting back to training will likely take longer than you thought it would, and you will need an insane amount of courage and patience as your conditioning and muscles shrink.

Yes, you can diligently walk and try to do light lower body training while you heal, but prepare to have many days when you just don’t feel like doing anything. A mastectomy affects your entire body, and for a few weeks after surgery you might be dizzy and nauseous just from medications. Your body is working furiously to rebuild traumatized tissue, so you’ll be fatigued and lack stamina. You may be in some pain and discomfort from the surgery or tissue expanders (if you have them), and you most certainly won’t be able to lift anything heavy for at least six weeks.

You will regain your strength and stamina, though – you will. Let yourself cry and feel frustrated – no one said having a mastectomy didn’t include emotional healing, too.

2. There’s no use comparing yourself to anyone else. You can just stop comparing yourself to other women who got back to training more quickly than you. Just because you read about someone else lifting after just six weeks doesn’t mean you will be. Personally, I didn’t feel like lifting much at all until I was cleared for exercise six weeks after my reconstructive surgery. All told, I took about four months off from heavy lifting. I worked on walking longer and faster, progressing with physical therapy, and regaining my range of motion. That is quite enough when you’re healing from major surgery, believe me.

3. You will spend a lot of time regaining shoulder mobility and range of motion. This is perhaps the biggest issue I have with my pre-op discussions. I just was not prepared for losing my shoulder and arm range of motion (ROM). I did not regain full overhead range of motion until nearly my reconstructive surgery, about eight weeks after my mastectomy.

This seemed like an eternity, and why? Because I couldn’t wear any of my existing tops, wash or brush my hair effectively, or reach things higher than a few inches over my head. My arms would not straighten overhead – period. Be extremely diligent about stretching and doing your PT exercises – you will get there.

pectoral4. Your pectorals and scapulae will forget how to operate, so it’s your job to retrain them.

Pectorals: Yep, this is a big one, obviously, because your pectorals not only work hard on upper-body training day, but also when you’re cooking, showering, getting dressed, driving, and pretty much anything else you do.  For me personally, my nerves were all severed in my left pectoral.  And it never repaired.  I had to retrain my brain and central nervous system, and that was incredibly complex and trying.

If you have reconstructed breasts, your pectorals are repositioned over your implants (I really don’t know how it works with DIEP flap procedures). They might spasm and jump around for a period of time and seem very weak as they learn how to function in their new position. Don’t expect to be doing push ups or any chest exercises for awhile, okay? Just slowly rebuild strength and follow your doctor’s advice.

Scapulae: We know how important shoulder retraction and depression are during lifting, right? But your scapulae might forget how to retract after a mastectomy, which is compounded by – and maybe even caused by – rounding of the shoulders after surgery. Limited ROM and a natural tendency to round your shoulders forward to avoid uncomfortable stretching may make retracting your shoulder blades seem foreign. You’ll work on this in physical therapy (I personally took on a quality personal trainer to help me), but know that by the time you’re released to exercise you might still have trouble retracting them fully. Be diligent with your PT exercises and stretching – as I said before, you’ll get there. You will!

Above all, have hope. It will get better. Recovering from any surgery takes time, and with determination and consistency you will get back. I’ve been back to training for four years now, and I’m happy with my progress. Oh, and did I mention patience?

Peace and love to you, my sisters!

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DSC00551Michelle Goldrick is a London Ontario based certified personal trainer with over 20 year’s experience in the fitness industry, with adding in some additional certification in Pre and Post Natal Specialised Personal Training.  Over the years she has helped many women achieve and sustain their fitness and weight loss goals before, during and after pregnancy and into menopause.  Michelle trains out of her own home based personal training studio.  She also has a large online training client base.  Michelle is a wife, entrepreneur and a mother to a very active 5 year old daughter.

Most recently being a breast cancer survivor, diagnosed in September 2013 with mastectomy in December 2013, she now also understand the unique obstacles to overcome physiologically and emotionally that younger women with early age diagnosis go through.  Michelle can be reached at her social media accounts:  IG @gfitnessmichelle TWITTER @michelleGfit  www.michellegfitness.com

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