Fitness and Exercise

Combining cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and yoga helps with recovery following all types of breast surgery, and during and after breast cancer treatments.

What is fitness?

It seems like the answer should be obvious, but fitness will be different things to different people. Fitness is an important part of preparation for and recovery from surgery or other medical interventions. It involves various aspects of your health, including mobility, strength, balance, heart and lung capacity, pelvic floor control and energy.

If you’ve just had surgery, or if you’re going through cancer treatment, particularly chemotherapy, exercise may be the last thing you feel like doing. However, there is strong evidence that physical activity, including strength training, improves recovery time, enhances mood, reduces the risk of adverse side effects including lymphedema, and even reduces the risk of cancer recurrence. It makes sense, then, to add cardio, flexibility and strength training to your surgery preparation and recovery or to your current cancer care and rehabilitation program.

Our exercise programs

Whatever your current level of physical activity, Breast Rehab therapists can work with you to design an exercise program specific to your needs that fits in with your lifestyle. We implement evidence-based fitness principles to address your needs before, during and after your cancer treatments.

Our programs are offered by regulated health care professionals to ensure you are moving in a safe and appropriate way throughout your fitness journey!

Strength

A unique, evidence based strengthening program tailored to your needs by our experts. Whether you’re aiming to get back to fitness after treatment, beginning your fitness journey to prepare ahead, or simply seeking guidance to maximize your potential in a safe environment, our team can help. We will work with you to design and execute a comprehensive program to guide you step-by-step. This program is designed to improve your overall physical fitness and strength to reach your personal goals.

Pelvic Health

Physical and hormonal changes to your pelvic floor can lead to a deterioration of overall pelvic health. Our expert guided fitness programming can help improve symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. Whether you are experiencing changes due to surgery, hormone therapy, menopause/perimenopause, or pregnancy/postpartum our program will help increase pelvic stability and function and lead to overall improved pelvic health.

Balance and Stability

This complete prevention program will take into consideration all your health needs to ensure you are minimizing your risk of falls, osteoporosis, and overall strength deterioration. This program focuses on mobility, stability and strength to ensure you can safely complete all activities of daily living- and to keep it that way! Whether you are struggling with bone density loss, unsteadiness, loss of mobility, or other physical hinderances that are impacting your day-to-day life we are here to help.

How does it work?

Step 1- Initial Assessment

We will evaluate your current fitness level including strength, mobility, and balance. We will assess your current restrictions, concerns and work with you to set goals for your fitness program. We will then work with you to create a customized exercise program to be completed over the next 6-12 weeks.

Step 2- Fitness Programming

Together we will determine the appropriate level of supervision for your program. Programs can be delivered one-on-one in person in our onsite gym space, virtually via our secure online platform, or independently at home with periodic check-ins with your therapist.

 

Exercise for patients with breast cancer

If regular exercise was part of your lifestyle before your diagnosis, it is helpful to maintain as much of your activities as possible throughout your cancer treatment. If you were not particularly active before, you can benefit from introducing an exercise routine as part of your treatment and recovery.

According to the American Cancer Association, exercise during cancer treatment offers many benefits:

  • Improves balance and coordination (and therefore reduces the chance of falls and fractures)
  • Keeps muscles from wasting (good muscle tone helps support the lymphatic system, lessening the chance of lymphedema or flare-ups)
  • Lessens nausea
  • Reduces fatigue
  • Improves blood flow, which may help reduce the chance of blood clots
  • Helps to maintain a healthy weight
  • Offers a way of coping with anxiety or depression
  • Provides the overall heart and general health benefits associated with exercise
  • Adding strength training and aerobic exercise to your cancer treatment plan will help you get through your cancer treatment and get back to feeling more like you again.

Yoga

Yoga is one of the most popular complementary health practices in North America.  It is used by healthcare professionals as a safe and effective approach to help people with a variety of health conditions. If you can find a time to practice yoga just a few times per week, you will find that it makes a noticeable difference when it comes to your health. Research has shown that yoga can be used to help improve high blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, metabolism and body temperature. Yoga can improve your strength, flexibility, balance, bone health, cardiovascular health, breathing patterns and other physiological systems. It can help decrease pain and inflammation. It is endorsed by the Canadian Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society and can help people living with cancer by relieving their symptoms of treatment.  It has also been shown to increase a sense of spiritual well-being by relieving stress, anxiety, and depression as well as aiding with fatigue and sleep problems. For more information on the benefits of yoga for breast cancer check out our recent blog post.

Yoga programming coming soon.

The team at Breast Rehab can design an exercise plan especially for you. Getting you moving is a big part of fostering resilience and restoring quality of life.