Physical Therapy After Breast Augmentation For a Rapid Recovery

Enlargement of one's breasts by plastic surgery is done by placing an implant partially underneath the pectoralis major muscle. By so doing, this causes a muscular injury and begs the important question of what is the best way to recover after this surgery. Like all muscle injuries, a more rapid recovery is achieved by using physical therapy techniques.

After cooling or icing one's breasts for the first few hours after surgery. I like to begin initiation of a Rapid Recovery program with early physical therapy. Arm range of motion exercises (stretch) should start the night of surgery. This consists of raising your arms from your side out to 90 degrees to the shoulder level. Repeat this 10 times every two hours on the day of surgery until you go to bed that nite. The day after surgery increase the angulation of the arms from the body up to 120 degrees every three hours or so. The following day you should be able to get the arms up to 180 degrees from your side. By the fourth day after surgery begin slow wind mills of 360 degrees going forward and then back. These stretching exercises should continue for the first week after surgery.

The second type of pectoralis physical therapy is a stretch exercise uses the help of a door way. Stand in the middle of a door way with one foot in front of the other. Bend your elbows to a 90 degree angle and place your forearms on each side of the door way. Shift your weight on to your front leg, leaning forward, until you feel a stretch in your chest muscles. Hold for 15 seconds, relax and return to starting position. Repeat this manuever 10 more times. This should be done four or more times per day during the second week after surgery. This type of stretch introduces some resistance which may be felt more down at the low sternal attachment, some of which may been partially released at the time of surgery.

Using an early initiation of a pectoralis stretching program, one can have a more rapid recovery after breast augmentation. Beginning the night of surgery and continuing for several weeks, most patients can have complete and full recovery within this time period. I have used this program for years in my Indianapolis plastic surgery practice and have found it universally effective for breast augmentation regardless of the patient's age.