Can I lift weights after lymph node removal?
Previously, after lymph node removal surgery, women have been told to avoid vigorous and repetitive movement involving the surgical site.
During this time, you may have been told you can’t lift more than 10 lbs.
The biggest concern with lifting more than 10 lbs is that it could trigger lymphedema.
Lymphedema is a swelling caused by the build-up of lymph fluid in the arm(s) or leg(s), breast, chest, and underarm areas or other parts of the body closest to the surgery.
Sometimes, it develops quickly, but it can also develop slowly over several months or years.
The number of lymph nodes removed greatly increases the risk for lymphedema.
There is fear that lifting weights, particularly over 10 pounds could cause lymphedema, but if that were true, then something as simple as rocking a 9-12 month old baby to sleep should be avoided.
Clearly, that is not the case.
But there is some truth to this concern, and proper guidance is necessary.
The truth is: you shouldn’t lift more than 10 pounds SHORTLY after lymph node removal.
Once the incisions are recovered, the skin has healed, and you are cleared.
You can now start exercising and slowly progress into lifting weights.
As you get started, it’s important to know:
The benefits of lifting weights after lymph node removal
How much weight you can lift after lymph node removal
What the best exercises are after lymph node removal
What are the benefits of lifting weights after lymph node removal?
It is very common to have fears surrounding how much you should lift after lymph node removal.
Fear of lymphedema and risk of injury are common concerns, leading you to take extra care of the trauma side and causing lack of movement and activity on your shoulder or legs.
But the most important thing to know is that in the case of lymph node removal, there is more risk in LACK of movement than there is in lifting weights.
Lack of movement increases your risk of:
Blood clots (after a hysterectomy)
Frozen shoulder
Future injuries
Constant pain
Lymphedema
The good news is that exercise is EXTREMELY beneficial.
Even if any of the above has occurred due to a previous lack of exercise, weight lifting can still help.
Doctors have previously advised not to lift more than 10 pounds, avoiding repetitive motions and strenuous physical activity.
However, a group of breast cancer survivors challenged this notion and joined a dragon boat team.
From this, a group of researchers found that exercise is beneficial for patients at any age.
Whether you are a stage I–III breast cancer survivor, weightlifting has been shown to help:
Reduce stiffness and tightness around the surgical area
Improve range of motion, flexibility, and shoulder mobility
Increase lymphatic flow and drainage
Reduces risk of lymphedema
Boost body image and confidence in your body and wellbeing
Strengthen your body to reduce other cancer treatment side effects
all while toning muscle, increasing strength, building confidence, and reducing stress without increasing your risk for lymphedema.
It is amazing how much more your body is capable of when lifting weights after lymph node surgery.
We have had online coaching clients achieve incredible feats, such as:
Hand stands (she grew up as a gymnast and felt cancer took that away from her)
Hand stand push-ups (she loved cross fit and felt cancer took away her health)
Planks (she wanted to start F45)
Travel (she was able to visit Machu Pichu AND climb to the top)
General strength for well-being (she wanted to pick up her newborn grandkids)
Join a dragon boat team (she had never exercised but wanted to get started and join a team)
So, do not fret.
Yur body is able and capable of more and the benefits of lifting weights goes beyond the physical.
It brings peace of mind knowing that by exercising, it reduces risk of lymphedema.
it boosts body image by seeing results, such as muscle toning.
It reduces stress and other cancer-treatment effects.
How Much weight can I left after Lymph node removal surgery
Can you lift weights after having lymph nodes removed?
“‘My doctor said I shouldn’t lift more than 10 pounds,’
But then she asked me, ‘how much are you lifting?’
So I told her, ’20 lbs…’
She laughed.
I showed no signs of lymphedema
Then she said, ‘Ok, but no more than 20 pounds.’”
—64-year-old 3x breast cancer survivor
In that moment, she knew her doctor was not fully sure how much weight she should lift.
There’s so much information to know about every single cancer treatment that many oncologists overlook general exercise recommendations.
Unfortunately, there are many things your oncologist hasn’t told you.
This is to no fault of their own, as it can be due to a lack of time, knowledge, and understanding.
After lymph node removal, however, there are a couple of things to be mindful of:
1) Right after surgery
It is important to pace yourself, but this is where the advice to not lift more than 10 pounds matters most.
Begin to use the affected arm for light activities, such as washing your face and brushing your teeth.
Other light housekeeping activities, such as sweeping and meal preparation, are okay as well.
The more you use your arm for daily activities, the more likely you will gain full range of motion.
Be mindful that during this time, you should avoid:
Activity that bounces or jostles the breast
Running
Jumping
Elliptical
Rowing
Repetitive and vigorous movements
Vacuuming
Moving heavy furniture
Hard scrubbing
You want to avoid this for 2-4 weeks, depending on your surgery and doctors’ orders.
A mastectomy with 19 lymph nodes removed may require more time to heal than a lumpectomy with 3 nodes removed.
Your body will not feel the same, and you may experience a “pull” sensation with certain movements
That’s normal.
DO NOT work through the pulling “sensation” on your own,
If needed, meet with a physical therapist to help with the “pulling” sensation.
2) Once you are cleared.
The sky is the limit.
There really is no limit for what you can and can’t do.
Currently, there is no evidence that lifting heavy weights (and I mean heavy) flares lymphedema, or causes it, even when at risk for lymphedema.
But this also holds true for body weight exercise such as:
Push-ups
Hand stands
Pull-ups.
So, even if lymphedema is present, there is no current limit to what can and can’t be done.
Lifting heaving weights or light weights has not been shown to irritate lymphedema or cause lymphedema flare-ups.
Therefore, whether you prefer to do 3 light sets of 15-20 reps or 2 heavy sets of 6-8 reps, both are safe do to.
The key is to progress properly and slowly.
Keep in mind, “heavy is relative to what your body can do” after surgery.
Your body will have muscular imbalances, weak points, limits in range of motion, and stiffness.
Give yourself time to work on muscular imbalances and improve strength and flexibility.
What Exercise Can I Do After I’ve Had Lymph Nodes Removed
As mentioned above, if you don’t use it, you lose it.
So, proper progression is key.
But the exercises you do right after surgery versus after you are cleared will differ.
1) Right after surgery is a time to focus on light stretches and general range of motion exercises.
You can start 2 days after surgery, and you want to focus on repeating the exercises several times a day (2-3x) while also focusing on full ranges of motion (side, front, rear, circular) to get your mobility back.
In addition, as soon as pain seems controlled and you feel comfortable, this is a great time to start incorporating physical activity back in through some light, low-impact walking.
Walking during this time a great way to fight off fatigue from surgery and boost energy, reduce nausea, stress, and anxiety.
You want to focus on light 10-15-minute walks 2-3 times per day.
If pain has not subsided, focus on doing some diaphragmatic breathing and relaxation techniques to help to manage pain.
2) Once you are cleared to exercise or return to normal, you can progress with each exercise. But here’s what you need to know.
FREQUENCY: Focus on lifting full body 2-3 days a week or uppers 1-2x a week and lowers 1-2x a week for a total of 4 days per week.
TIME: You should spend 10 minutes warming up, 20 minutes on the workout, and 5-10 mins on cool-down exercises/stretching—in this order.
A) Warm up: Start by doing 5 mins of general full body warm up.
This should be a brisk walk (trying to reach a SLIGHT sweat) or you can set the treadmill between 3.2-3.6 mph (this is the average walking speed for most people, anything above will require you to jog).
Then go into doing 5 minutes of chest and shoulder mobility exercises, emphasizing proper motion on the chest wall, shoulders, and arms.
This should be done 5-8 reps, each repeated twice before getting into your work outs.
Focus on rotation:
Standing arm swings
Shoulder pass-throughs
Rotator cuff rotation
Focus on the fly:
Reverse fly
Chest fly - with a big wide stretch
B) Work out: Whether you are doing 3 days of full body or 4 days, splitting up lower and body workouts, it’s important to split up your routine into upper and lower-body focused.
On upper-body-focused days, you want to focus on doing free weights first.
Once you can do at least 5 pounds on free weights for arm or shoulder exercises, you can then incorporate machines. If you want to also do lower body on that same day, stick to machines for lower body.
Safe upper-body workouts you can incorporate include:
Chest press
Shoulder press
Lat pulldown
Bicep curl
Triceps pull down
On lower-body-focused days, start with machines first and then incorporate free weights or barbells. Free weights or barbells will tire your arms faster after surgery than they will your lower body.
Therefore, if the goal is to focus on your legs, get a good leg workout first and finish off the workout with some free weights so that your arms are not the limiting factor in your workouts.
Safe lower-body workouts you can incorporate include:
Leg extension
Leg press
Hamstring curl
Goblet squat
Lunges
C) Cool Down/ Stretch: Stiffness, soreness, and tightness is common after surgery, so taking some time to stretch as a good, healthy practice is important.
Each stretch should be held for 10-30 seconds per arm and repeated twice.
Focus on 4 stretches and take time to really see how your body improves.
You should go for a mild discomfort in your stretch—not aches, numbness or pain.
The goal is to feel better.
A couple of stretches to focus on:
Cross-arm stretch
Doorway stretch
Child’s pose
Over-the-head side arm stretch.
INTENSITY: Should be moderate or hard for 8-12 reps, 2-3 sets.
“Moderate” is defined as being able to do between 8-12 reps while feeling like you worked out your muscle.
“Hard” is being able to achieve between 8-12 reps but not 1 or 3 more reps than that.
While this is a lot to remember, we have designed 101 workouts, designed with at-home and gym exercises to get you started.
Click here to get it today for free so you can get started hassle-free.
Lastly, post-operative fatigue is normal. Chemo fatigue is common, and even radiation can add to the fatigue.
Fatigue is part of experience, unfortunately, and some discomfort and pain do come along with it.
The important thing is that you start slow by incorporating light household activities early and slowly start adding weightlifting.
Start light, even if it’s 2-3 pounds to start. Every movement counts to help reduce strain on the muscle.
Remember: starting is important, but not the end.
Where you end up and how much you improve is up to you.
This disease does not define you and YOUR body has the ability to improve.
You can go, build muscle, tone your body, and increase strength by lifting weights after lymph node removal
