After breast surgery, the body does not just recover immediately. Breast surgery can affect the ability of shoulder movements, arms, even the ability to draw deep breaths. After breast surgery it feels like pain, stiffness, and weakness so that the movement around the arm is limited. Therefore, practicing hand movements is one of the most effective and simple ways for you to recover quickly. What are the movements like? Check here.
1. Gymnastics stick
You can use items at home to do this movement. Use a stick or a broom handle as a tool. What is important, your stick must be longer than the shoulder. The purpose of doing this movement is to increase flexibility and range of motion of your arms back to normal.
Here's how to do it:
- Lie on your back on a mattress or floor. Position your back and neck must be straight.
- To keep your back with your neck straight, you can bend your knees.
- Position your feet straight on the mat, open slightly shoulder width apart.
- Hold the stick above your stomach with both hands. Position of the palm facing up.
- Then lift the stick above your head as far as you can.
- Use your arms that are not affected by surgery to help other hand movements lift the stick.
- Hold for 5 seconds
- Next, return the stick to the stomach.
- Repeat 5-7 times.
2. Elbow gymnastics
This gymnastic movement is a movement to train the upper chest and shoulders. Elbow gymnastics helps you to rotate your shoulders better and help flex your upper chest muscles. Here's how to do it:
- Do this exercise on the bed, on the floor, or on the mattress.
- Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet straight on the floor.
- Place both hands behind the neck to support the neck and head so that they don't stick directly to the floor.
- Point your elbows to the ceiling, as much as possible.
- Lower your elbows parallel to the floor or mattress.
- Repeat 5-7 times.
3. Side stretch
Gymnastics this time aims to help restore flexibility to the upper body muscles, shoulders and arms. Do it while sitting on a chair. Here's how to do it:
- Sit up straight in a chair, hold your hand in front of you in a position perpendicular to your body.
- Lift your arms slowly to the top of the head with the arms fixed.
- When your arms are above your head, bend your body to the right side. The position of the hand stays straight towards the top.
- Then return to the starting position of the body straight in the middle.
- Next point the body to the left in the same way.
- Repeat 5-7 times to the right and left.
4. Wall climbing movement
In gymnastics after breast surgery this time, you are no longer sitting or lying down, but standing. This movement is intended so that you can lift your arms up as far as possible after breast surgery. Here's how:
- Stand upright facing the wall.
- Place your hands on the wall parallel to your eyes. This is your starting position.
- Then run your fingers over the wall, as high as you can reach your hand. Feel the shoulder joint and your arm muscles stretch.
- The movement of your body stretches up to help your hands reach the wall as high as possible.
- If you have found the highest point, it is stuck and cannot reach the upper part of the wall anymore, hold it in position with the position of the hand straight for 15 seconds.
- Return your hands to the starting position, parallel to your eyes.
- Repeat this movement 3-5 times.
In addition to the position facing the wall, you can also do it with a position beside the wall in the same way.
5. Shoulder squeeze blade
After breast surgery, you can also do a recovery movement on the edge of the bed. But if it's not comfortable, you can move to sit upright in a chair. The following is how to do shoulder blade movements:
- Sitting upright, neck and spine must be straight.
- Place your hands behind your back while holding on.
- Then, holding hands, pull both shoulders down and back.
- Feel your shoulder moving closer to the spine, not upward towards the ear.
- After pulling the shoulders as much as possible, hold this position for 3-5 seconds. At this time your chest will be wide open.
- Repeat this exercise 5-7 times.
If you can't move the right and left shoulder symmetrically or evenly, don't worry, do what you can. Try to move according to ability until over time you can move it back perfectly.