Jennifer Garner's coach published a free exercise series for people who recover from a mastectomy

Jennifer Garner's coach published a free exercise series for people who recover from a mastectomy

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women in the United States, and more than 100,000 women in the United States undergo some kind of mastectomy for surgical treatment of breast cancer every year. If you or someone you know is one of these women, you may think about the way to recover after mastectomy and how movement a part of this plan can be. (Read more: 11 signs of breast cancer that everyone should know)

Beth Nicely, trainer of celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Nicole Kidman, has teamed up with the physiotherapist Dani Luna, DPT, to create a series of practice for people on her fitness platform The Limit who recover from a mastectomy. The 12-week program is now available online for everyone who wants to try it out free of charge.

A mastectomy is breast cancer surgery in which the breast is removed, according to the American Cancer Society. The recovery period depends on the precisely carried out interventions and whether the chest or breasts have been reconstructed. In some patients it can only take four weeks for them to return to normal activities; For others, it can take months for the full activity capacity to reach. According to Nicely, the limit program for patients is suitable for mastectomy operations and other breast operations such as lumpectomies throughout their recovery.

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Nicely, a NASM-certified personal trainer, correction exercise specialist and certified pre-/postnatal specialist based in New York City, has worked with cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy, she says Shape. Typically, she is happy to research how she can help your customers while recovering from an injury or a medical intervention. When she was looking for instructions for women who had recently undergone a mastectomy, Nicely could only find information on the Internet that was designed for the first six weeks after the operation. Suggestions that should be done afterwards were missing.

So Nicely and Luna set out to provide a better resource. "We wanted it to be accessible to everyone," says Nicely and notes that the program will be available in the foreseeable future on The Limit's website. Users can enter the "Survivor" code to get free access to the series for a period of 12 weeks.

The course is designed for patients who can start between three and seven days after the operation and is intended for all levels - regardless of personal fitness before the operation. Over the course of 12 weeks, every session focuses on exercises that help increase blood circulation, improve freedom of movement, to regain mobility and strengthen the body. The videos include four breast cancer survivors who had all mastectomies that do the exercises together with Nicely.

The workouts are quite gentle and lead to a full 30-minute class and work until holding a plank, says Nicely. The program also takes into account the big differences in the surgery experiences and takes into account various reconstructive elements, postoperative drainage, implant placement and other factors.

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"Every exercise after cancer can be helpful," Tara Gentrft, MD, extraordinary professor of medicine (medical oncology) at the Yale Cancer Center, which leads research on the effects of movement on cancer treatment and results, compared to Shape. "It can help to recover from an operation, [and] it can help with side effects of operations." Movement can help with sleep quality, fear and energy, she explains.

Other experts agree. "It is actually crucial to be able to exercise after a mastectomy surgery as long as these exercises exist [and] These stretching exercises are prescribed by someone who has experience in working with people who have undergo mastectomy," says Scott Capozza, PT, MSPT, a specialist for oncological physiotherapy, which for the Yale New Haven Hospital and the Smilow Cancer Hospital works. "You don't want to do too much too early, but you don't want to be completely immobilized either," he adds.

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Like many interventions, breast operations also vary and consequently also the recovery period of a person. "If someone has a lumpectomy [A Breast Conserving Surgery] You can become active again faster," says Capozza. "But if someone has a bilateral mastectomy with a DIEP flap reconstruction, the healing will take a little longer."

First of all, it is important to start training in a safe way, says Dr. Gentle and emphasized that patients should consult their care team and surgeons if they think about measures during recovery. "I think the best thing would be to bring the [Exercise Program] to the attention of your health team and say: 'I thought about it and wanted to make sure that the team agreed,'" she advises.

Capozza and Nicely repeat this feeling. "Make sure you have the permission of your doctor before physical activity," Nicely notes in a press release about her program.

If you or someone you know for a practice plan for the mastectomy, the 12-week recovery program from The Limin may be worth a visit (of course with the doctor's consent).