Gentle Pilates

Pilates for Breast Cancer Rehabilitation

In January 2009 we were featured in Lancashire life, see below for what they wrote!

Taken from Lancashire Life, January 2009

Positive Health Pilates, Longridge (Thursday) or Private Pilates

Positive Health Pilates is the perfect class if you need extra attention during your workout.  We can modify moves to make sure you remain comfortable and able to work your body in a safe and effective way.

During October 2008 and Breast Cancer Awareness month I have been very fortunate to attend the UK's first Pilates and Breast Cancer Rehabilitation course in Oxford.  Within the North West region of England, I am one of the handful of Pilates and Breast Cancer specialists.

Many more women (and men) will survive breast cancer today than ever before.  The programme Experience Pilates offers is specifically for you to assist in your recovery and increase strength and endurance which will enable you to resume an active life.
 
The Experience Pilates programme includes matwork-based exercises focusing on:
  • range of motion for the entire shoulder girdle,
  • establishing mobility,
  • restoring posture, ensuring proper biomechanics and
  • developing core and peripheral strength to address muscular imbalances created from the surgeries.
Pilates exercises will incorporate hand-held toning balls or tennis balls and a towel or small foam cushion to work on low-load strength and endurance.
Whilst breast cancer affects more female than males, please get in contact with me should you be a man who has been affected.  Everyone is treated with respect and empathy. 
  

Click here to read an article about specialist mastectomy  underwear.

 

 

 

 

General Exercise - how you can help yourself...

Perhaps the last thing on anyones mind post cancer treatment is exercise and rehab, but there is a growing amount of medical evidence that suggests exercise can improve the recovery process of breast cancer patients.  This short article looks at how exercise (not just Pilates) can help with the recovery process.
  • Cardiovascular exercise. 
    • According to the Nurses' Health Study (1) a brisk 30 minutes walk 3-5 times a week will reduce the risk of cancer reoccurring by 40%.  This may be because exercise helps with weight loss, reducing the number of fat cells which produce oestrogen, and certain breast cancers are fueled by oestrogen.  The necessary cancer treatments can impair the normal cardiac response to exercise.  Excess vasodilation may cause blood pooling in extremities.  There is also a reduction of blood from the core to the skin, which can cause the person to overheat.
    • To make sure you workout at an appropriate level it is recommended that you work to a level of about 11-13 of the Borg scale of perceived rat of exertion (PRE) (2).  This is a scale from 0-20, where 0 is no effort and 20 is maximum (all out) effort.  Obviously a happy medium needs to be found. Please contact me for more details about the BORG scale.
  • Muscular Strength and Endurance. 
    • Muscular strength and muscular endurance are particularly beneficial to those who are left with muscle imbalances and weakness post surgery.  Exercise can reduce the strain on some muscles, improve posture and help retrain any muscles that have been surgically repositioned.  Also, this type of exercise can help to slow the process of bone loss caused by chemotherapy, and early menopause or anti-cancer drugs the patient may be taking.
    • Care should be taken if the patient has lymphoedmea.  A study by Kaldo (3) found that upper-body exercises did not change arm volume or arm circumference in women with lymphoedema, but the women did experience an improve in the quality of life.  The use of a compression garment when exercising forces the muscles to contract against the material and also aids removal of lymph fluid from the arm.  Click here for more information about Lymphoedema.
  • Flexibility. 
    • Cancer treatments alter muscles and connective tissue elasticity.  Stretching and range of movements (ROM) are essential components in a effort to counterbalance stiffness and changes in posture following treatment.  However, ROM may be restricted due to scar tissue post operation.  Any stretches are taken to the point of discomfort and never beyond, to avoid over stretching.
  • Motor Fitness. 
    • This means that the body constantly adjusts itself.  However, surgery may have left muscles imbalanced, and pulling the joints out of alignment.  It is vital that these faulty movement patterns are addressed as soon as possible to prevent injury.  Depending on the type of reconstruction (if any) then the body will need the motor fitness (and therefore the nerves) re-training as they will now be be performing different jobs.  For example, breast reconstruction using the back muscles - known as a Lat flap - takes a large back muscle (latissimus dorsi) and re-seats it to the chest muscle.  This has repercussion for the stability of the lumbar spine.

A simple programme of brisk walking and a personalised programme of breast cancer Pilates can help with fitness, mood and self-esteem.  Click here for more details on Personal Pilates - Breast Cancer Rehab. 

Article references available upon request.