You may want to try upper limb function exercises after breast cancer surgery

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor of the female breast. Its cause may be related to the change and disorder of sex hormones. The age of onset is mostly between 40 and 60 years old. Surgery is the main treatment for breast cancer, which mainly includes breast-conserving surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Although the current surgical methods for breast cancer are developing in the direction of reducing the scope of resection, the postoperative recovery of breast cancer patients cannot be ignored. Upper limb functional exercise can promote the postoperative recovery of breast cancer patients. The specific operation is as follows.

1. Within 24 hours after surgery, the patient can move his fingers and wrists, and can perform movements such as extending fingers, clenching fists, and flexing wrists.

2. 1 to 3 days after surgery, patients can perform exercises such as elbow flexion and arm extension, and gradually transition to small-range flexion and extension exercises of the shoulder joint, with flexion less than 30 degrees and extension less than 15 degrees.

3. 4 to 7 days after surgery, patients are encouraged to use the affected hand to wash their face, brush their teeth, eat, etc., and to exercise the affected hand to touch the opposite shoulder and the same ear as the affected hand.

4. 1 to 2 weeks after the operation, the patient can perform appropriate shoulder activities. After the wound heals, shoulder function exercises can be gradually increased, such as finger wall climbing exercises, combing the hair on the affected side, or combing the hair from the head to the opposite ear, so as to restore upper limb function as much as possible.

When patients perform upper limb functional exercises, they should decide based on their actual personal situation. Generally, it is appropriate to do it 3 to 4 times a day, each time for 20 to 30 minutes.