{"id":2024,"date":"2021-10-13T09:52:49","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T16:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/?p=2024"},"modified":"2021-12-02T10:22:36","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T18:22:36","slug":"chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/","title":{"rendered":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Road Map to Recovery<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Mastectomy<\/li><li><strong>6 weeks of tissue healing<\/strong><\/li><li>Rehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength &#8211;&gt; Return to function<\/li><li>Reconstructive breast surgery<\/li><li>Rehab to continue shoulder strengthening and activity specific &#8211;&gt; Return to activity\/sport\/work<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>You can start physical therapy as early as 1 weeks after your surgery! Discuss when you will be ready with your surgeon and call to make physical therapy appointments in advance to have a smooth transition to therapy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What can we do at this time?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Look at your incision sites and make sure it&#8217;s healing well<\/li><li>If you are seeing us for Physical Therapy, we can help change your bandages if you bring your extra ones.<\/li><li>Start gently moving your arms and strengthening exercises for surrounding muscles (not directly affected by the surgery).<\/li><li>Gentle scar tissue mobilization once your incision site has scabbed over and fallen off.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is scar tissue?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After surgery, your body forms scar tissue over the incision site(s). The scar tissue is usually more fibrous and stiff, which can affect your mobility if it isn&#8217;t addressed. There are multiple layers of tissue in your body and scar tissue can cause these layers to get &#8220;stuck&#8221; and it can also be painful.&nbsp;&nbsp;We will go over mobilization techniques later for you to get moving!&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2025\" width=\"338\" height=\"225\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/2rdnmg1qbg403gumla1v9i2h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/Mastectomy-300x200.jpg\">https:\/\/2rdnmg1qbg403gumla1v9i2h-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/Mastectomy-300&#215;200.jpg<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>I have lymphedema&#8230;&nbsp;&nbsp;What should I do?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The lymphatic system is part of your immune system that can be seen like a highway system throughout the body to help clear waste products and fight infections. Lymphedema usually occurs when lymph nodes are removed from the area, which can be paired with a mastectomy. Because the flow is disrupted with surgery, there is a chance of developing lymphedema where the affected limb becomes swollen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture2-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2026\" width=\"491\" height=\"324\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bcm.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lymphedema-image.jpg\">https:\/\/blogs.bcm.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Lymphedema-image.jpg<\/a>)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are a post-mastectomy patient with lymphedema, you may benefit from seeing a Certified Lymphedema Specialist (CLT) instead. Talk to your doctor to see if they can recommend you a specialist near you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have more questions, please <a href=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/appointments\/\">book an appointment<\/a> with Dr. Ann DeGrey, PT, DPT, SCS or Dr. Lei Lee, PT, DPT for more information and to develop a plan!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy 6 weeks of tissue healing Rehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength &#8211;&gt; Return to function Reconstructive breast surgery Rehab to continue shoulder strengthening and activity specific &#8211;&gt; Return to activity\/sport\/work You can start physical therapy as early as 1 weeks after your surgery! Discuss when you will be [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":2025,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[57,58,54,55],"class_list":["post-2024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mastectomy-recovery","tag-breast-cancer","tag-lymphedema","tag-mastectomy","tag-mastectomy-rehab"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MOTI Physiotherapy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/motiphysiotherapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5cc2e8ce0b483455724c6d03abe1304\"},\"headline\":\"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\"},\"wordCount\":402,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\",\"keywords\":[\"breast cancer\",\"lymphedema\",\"mastectomy\",\"mastectomy rehab\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mastectomy Recovery\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\",\"name\":\"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00\",\"description\":\"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png\",\"width\":450,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/\",\"name\":\"MOTI Physiotherapy\",\"description\":\"Movement Therapy Institute\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Motipt Physical Therapy Los Angeles\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Motipt-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Motipt-Logo.png\",\"width\":\"370\",\"height\":\"142\",\"caption\":\"Motipt Physical Therapy Los Angeles\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/motiphysiotherapy\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/moti_pt\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5cc2e8ce0b483455724c6d03abe1304\",\"name\":\"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e1d5c6488d3ab0c7a1baf2e48890160e0181e23a450b68af42914c3abce017ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e1d5c6488d3ab0c7a1baf2e48890160e0181e23a450b68af42914c3abce017ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/motipt.com\/author\/ann-and-lei\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy","description":"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy","og_description":"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive","og_url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/","og_site_name":"MOTI Physiotherapy","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/motiphysiotherapy\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":450,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/"},"author":{"name":"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5cc2e8ce0b483455724c6d03abe1304"},"headline":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy","datePublished":"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/"},"wordCount":402,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png","keywords":["breast cancer","lymphedema","mastectomy","mastectomy rehab"],"articleSection":["Mastectomy Recovery"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/","url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/","name":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy - MOTI Physiotherapy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png","datePublished":"2021-10-13T16:52:49+00:00","dateModified":"2021-12-02T18:22:36+00:00","description":"Road Map to Recovery Mastectomy6 weeks of tissue healingRehab to normalize shoulder mobility and core strength --&gt; Return to functionReconstructive","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Picture1-1.png","width":450,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/chipping-away-at-the-wall-tissue-healing-after-mastectomy\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"3- Chipping away at the wall: Tissue Healing after Mastectomy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/","name":"MOTI Physiotherapy","description":"Movement Therapy Institute","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#organization","name":"Motipt Physical Therapy Los Angeles","url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Motipt-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Motipt-Logo.png","width":"370","height":"142","caption":"Motipt Physical Therapy Los Angeles"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/motiphysiotherapy\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/moti_pt\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d5cc2e8ce0b483455724c6d03abe1304","name":"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e1d5c6488d3ab0c7a1baf2e48890160e0181e23a450b68af42914c3abce017ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e1d5c6488d3ab0c7a1baf2e48890160e0181e23a450b68af42914c3abce017ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ann DeGrey and Lei Lee"},"url":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/author\/ann-and-lei\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2024"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2164,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2024\/revisions\/2164"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/motipt.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}