(ProActive Sports Rehab offers a weekly column promoting health, fitness and physical therapy. Please be sure to check back each week for a new topic!)
Exercise supervised by a physical therapist can help anyone undergoing cancer treatment exercise safely and comfortably during treatment, and remain physically active. It also may relieve many of the side effects of cancer treatment.
With a physical therapist’s help, exercise during cancer treatment can:
1. Reduce fatigue: Exercise helps boost energy and endurance during cancer treatment.
2. Maintain muscle strength. Safe exercise can help keep your muscles strong.
3. Reduce stress. Exercising during cancer treatment can help ward off anxiety, fear and depression.
4. Prevent or reduce lymphedema and swelling. Special physical therapy treatments address lymphedema and swelling.
5. Reduce pain. Safe and comfortable exercise is proven to be effective in reducing pain.
6. Prevent and reduce weight gain. Staying physically active can help you maintain a healthy weight.
7. Reduce brain fog. Exercise has an immediate and long-lasting effect in reducing brain fog.
8. Reduce bone density loss. Certain exercises done while standing and moving can stimulate your bones to stay healthy and strong, helping to avoid fractures.
9. Improve the survival rate. Research studies have suggested that consistent exercise during cancer treatment may have beneficial effects that improve the outcome of that treatment.
10. Assist athletes to continue sports training. Athletes undergoing cancer treatment may not have to give up their sport. A physical therapist can help design a special exercise plan that includes an athlete’s chosen sport, a modified version or aspects of it.
— American Physical Therapy Association; Andrea Avruskin, PT, DPT
ProActive Sports Rehab, with offices in Hamburg and West Seneca, offers one-on-one physical therapy and rehabilitation services. For more information, please visit http://proactivesportsrehab.com or call 674-9600 (West Seneca office) or 648-8700 (Hamburg office). You can also follow ProActive Sports Rehab on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProActiveSportsRehab for frequent updates.
