Episode Transcript
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Darnah Mercieca (00:03):
Wondering what
exercise is best before your
explant surgery.
Today we'll talk about whatexercises you should be doing
and what you should be avoidingas you prepare for surgery.
This is Empowered Explant thepodcast helping women ditch
their breast implants withconfidence.
I'm D Merziker board certifiedhealth and wellness coach and
(00:25):
explant warrior, and for thosewho don't know which is likely
most of you, because this isn'tsomething that I really talk
about much or advertise but I'malso a certified personal
trainer and I love talking aboutfitness, especially when it
comes to helping women on theirexplant journeys, of course,
because this is what I talkabout most of the time.
(00:47):
So today we're going to talkabout something super important
but not really talked about thatmuch, and that's exercise
before explant surgery.
It kind of feels like we get soconsumed thinking about what we
need to do after surgery as werecover, that we don't even
think about what exercise shouldlook like before surgery, but
(01:10):
it can actually help you recoverfaster.
If you're dealing with breastimplant illness, you might be
feeling pretty limited in howmuch you can do physically right
now let's face it or it mightbe uncomfortable.
It might feel uncomfortable toexercise carrying the weight of
your implants, whether it'sfatigue, pain or just a general
(01:34):
feeling of weakness.
I get it, I was there.
It can feel overwhelming tothink about working out when
your body is already struggling.
But here's the thing movement,even gentle movement, can be so
helpful preparing your body forsurgery, and it doesn't have to
be intense or exhausting.
(01:55):
In fact, it shouldn't be thosethings.
It should be all aboutlistening to your body and being
kind to yourself through thisprocess as you prepare for your
surgery.
So stick with me to the endbecause I'm going to break down
what role exercise plays inpreparing your body for surgery,
the best exercise to do andwhat exercises you should likely
(02:20):
avoid before your surgery.
A quick disclaimer please knowI'm not a medical doctor and
this podcast does not constitutemedical or mental health advice
.
I share from my personalexperience, research and
conversations with other people.
If you're experiencing symptoms, pain, post-surgery
complications or mental healthconcerns, please seek care from
(02:43):
your medical provider or surgeonand please make any medical
decisions in consultation with aqualified and experienced
healthcare professional.
First up, let's talk about whatpreparing your body for surgery
really means.
It's not about being in topphysical shape or pushing
yourself to the limit or beingat a certain weight.
(03:05):
Instead of that, you might behappy to hear that less is more
here.
So I want you to think aboutdoing strategic exercises that
can help with things like bloodflow, muscle strength and
flexibility.
These things actually helpreduce recovery time after
surgery, which is just a hugebonus.
(03:26):
You want to focus onstrengthening key areas like
your core, back, legs and glutes.
By strengthening these majorparts of your body, you'll feel
so much more supported andcapable after surgery.
Because, think about it, right,you don't have your arms to
help you.
About it, right, you don't haveyour arms to help you.
So, getting up out of bed orcore, standing up from the bed
(03:49):
or couch or floor and sitting onthe toilet, all legs and glutes
so you got to make sure thatthose areas are strong and ready
to support you All right, butexercise does a lot more than
(04:09):
just strengthen your muscles.
It also reduces stress, whichis obviously very present before
explant surgery, and when youmove your body, it releases
endorphins which help you feelmore calm and less anxious.
Exercise also helps your body'snatural detox pathways by
boosting circulation andlymphatic flow, which is going
(04:30):
to help flush out toxins andkeep your immune system strong.
Now we're not aggressivelydetoxing before we explant all
right, but we do want toencourage that system to be
functioning, and that's going toreally just help with making
(04:52):
sure that your system's notcompletely overloaded when you
go into surgery, that your bodyis capable of some detox
functionality, even though aftersurgery you'll do a lot more to
support that function.
Plus, getting your bloodflowing to your skin and muscles
(05:13):
brings oxygen and nutrientswhere they're needed, and that's
going to help your skin andyour muscles get ready to heal
and repair after surgery.
So I got to take a breath and asip of water.
I feel like I'm moving quickertoday and I think it's because I
just had a lovely green tea.
I'm feeling energized and myboyfriend's picking me up in 15
(05:38):
minutes.
It's date night tonight.
It's Saturday night.
I'm super excited.
So we're going to get throughthis and it's going to be fun
and great.
So lots of good reasons whyit's important to get your body
moving now, before surgery.
All right, now let's move intothe best types of exercises to
(06:00):
do.
There are three main types ofexercise you want to include.
First is gentle cardio, likewalking or cycling.
These movements help improveyour circulation, which is great
for your overall recovery andalso is going to help reduce
risk levels.
You know you think of bloodclots and things like that.
(06:21):
So you know, the better yourcirculation is really, the less
risk you're going to have aftersurgery as well.
Second is strength training.
For this I recommend focusingon light resistance exercises,
especially for your core, legsand glutes.
These are the areas, like Imentioned earlier, that are
(06:44):
going to help support your bodythrough surgery and recovery.
But you don't need to go heavyBody weight exercises, light
weights or resistance bands aredefinitely enough.
Obviously, if you're alreadyaccustomed to lifting heavier
weights or you have a moreathletic regime already and that
(07:06):
feels good for you, still, hey,I'm not saying you need to dial
that back at all, um, butlisten to your body and make
sure you're adjusting where youneed to to prepare for your
surgery.
So, even if you are superathletic, you're used to lifting
heavy weights.
You know, sometimes I think wecan get stuck in that Like, well
(07:28):
, this is just what I do, likeif I, if I go lighter, I'm going
to get weaker or I'm taking astep backwards, um, but if your
body is telling you like, hey,girl, you need some rest, or you
know you've got chest pain oryou're really struggling with
(07:48):
fatigue or achiness.
Struggling with fatigue orachiness, or those symptoms are
flaring up a lot, it might bebest to dial it back just for
now.
That strength will come back, Ipromise.
And thirdly is flexibility andmobility work, which I think is
forgotten way too often.
Just in general.
(08:09):
Incorporating stretching oryoga is a gentle way to keep
your body flexible and releasetension, especially in the areas
that will be affected bysurgery, like your chest,
shoulders and back.
Keeping those muscles relaxedand limber can really help you
(08:30):
heal more comfortably aftersurgery.
And if you're suffering fromback or neck or shoulder pain or
joint pain like I totally waswhen I had my breast implants
all heavy on my chest andpulling my shoulders forward,
this can really help beforesurgery too.
All right, now let's talk aboutwhat to avoid right before
(08:55):
surgery.
As a personal trainer, I usuallyrecommend that my clients ease
off of chest exercises the weekbefore explant surgery.
Now, there's reasons for this.
Okay, I think you know I hearsurgeons say it doesn't really
matter.
You can kind of exercise asmuch as you want leading up to
(09:18):
surgery.
I hear a lot of differentthings, but the last thing you
want is sore, overworkedpectoral muscles going into
surgery or recovery.
You want your chest muscles tobe relaxed and not in a state of
repair from exercise, becausewe want your body focused on
repairing from surgery.
(09:39):
Gentle exercises that turn onthe chest without resistance are
still fine Things like planks,certain yoga poses, maybe some
incline push-ups like on a wallor a bench but I suggest you
avoid adding too much resistanceor heavy weight and, like I
said, that's especially for thatweek leading into your surgery.
(10:04):
And you'll also want to avoidhigh impact activities Anything
that puts excessive strain onyour body.
You do not need more strain onyour body right now.
This is to avoid sore andfatigued muscles.
That can just make recoverymore uncomfortable.
It'll also help prevent anyinjuries and any unnecessary
(10:28):
stress or tension in the areasthat need to heal stress or
tension in the areas that needto heal.
And finally, don't overexertyourself.
This is also coming back toanother reason for avoiding that
super heavy weight exercise orhigh impact exercise.
Overexertion just isn't whereyou want to be right now.
(10:49):
This isn't the time to pushthrough fatigue or pain.
Listen to your body and begentle.
The goal here is to build astrong foundation for healing,
not to exhaust yourself.
I want to take a moment to justshare a little of my own story
here, because I know how hardthis can be.
(11:10):
Seriously, before my explantsurgery I was exhausted,
completely fatigued and weak.
Oh, I can slow down and breathenow and go a little slower,
because my boyfriend just texted.
I just saw it pop up in thecorner of my screen saying I
usually have it on, do notdisturb, but, um, because we
were getting close to the timehe was going to pick me up, I
(11:32):
didn't and I just saw a littlemessage pop up saying that he's
running late.
So it's one of those momentswhere I'm actually really glad
for that, and he's usually avery punctual person.
That's why I was like pushingthrough.
Um, but yay, okay.
So back to my story.
(11:54):
I had gone from being reallyactive and even teaching group
workout classes during the timewhere everything was shut down,
to barely being able to exerciseat all.
It was really sad.
My muscles had atrophied, whichbasically means shrunk.
I was really weak to the pointwhere I was underweight and just
(12:18):
didn't have the strength that Iused to at all.
Um, on top of that, I had majorpain in my neck and my
shoulders and sharp pain in mybreasts, um, in both sides, but
my left side was worse.
And forget about running.
(12:39):
Oh my goodness, that wasn'teven a thing for me for a long
time and I used to say I'm justnot a runner, but really it was
just that I couldn't do it, likeI couldn't breathe, it was
uncomfortable I it would causeme pain, like I would run and my
shoulders would hurt and myneck would hurt, which is just
really weird.
But now I know it was the scartissue, the capsule that had
(13:04):
grown into my armpits, growninto my ribs, pulling all of
this forward the weight, myposture was messed up, my neck
had been made crooked.
Oh my goodness, just what thesethings did to my body, to my
skeletal system, to my muscles.
It just ah, it was tough.
(13:28):
But I knew that movement wasstill important, even if it had
to look different than it usedto Right, and I think that
that's that's kind of what I wassaying earlier.
Sometimes what you can do nowhas to look different than what
it used to, at least for now,until you're on the other side
(13:52):
of recovery and healing.
So I focused on functionalexercises, which I'm a big fan
of, things that help me feelstronger while also relieving
tension in my body.
It wasn't about pushing myselfhard, but preparing my body for
surgery and giving myself thebest chance at a smooth recovery
(14:15):
.
It was just all about a mentalreframe, right?
It's not that?
Oh, I'm weak, I can't do this.
I don't feel as strong as Iused to.
I just reframed those thoughtsand I kept telling myself that I
would make a full comebackafter surgery.
And here's the amazing partNearly three years later, I'm
(14:41):
the strongest I've ever been.
At 36 years old, I even justdid my first ever pull up, and a
few years ago I wouldn't haveeven seen that as a possibility.
I thought that was my normal,and oh my goodness, it was not.
(15:04):
It was so far from my normal.
So I promise you your body canheal and you can come back
stronger from this too.
All right, so how do you makethis work for you?
How do you kind of come up witha plan for this work for you?
How do you kind of come up witha plan for this?
I've got some tips for you,okay.
(15:24):
So start by scheduling regulargentle workouts.
Keep a mix of cardio, strengthand flexibility, and make sure
it feels doable where you're atright now.
Don't schedule workouts forfuture you yet.
Okay, just start small.
The CDC recommends at least 150minutes of moderate intensity
(15:47):
physical activity each week.
Now that's just a guideline tofollow to make sure you're
getting the minimum amount ofexercise your body needs.
You can break those 150 minutesup into smaller chunks of time,
like 30 minutes a day, fivedays a week, for example.
It might be more than that.
Maybe you do an hour a day ofactivity, maybe it's 45 minutes
(16:08):
a day, maybe some days it's 20minutes a day and others it's an
hour.
Figure it out according to yourschedule, but I do recommend
getting activity in each dayinstead of just, you know,
breaking it into two bigworkouts two days a week or
three days a week, and youshould also include muscle
(16:31):
strengthening activities atleast two days a week.
If you can, I recommend thatyou consult with a professional,
like a physiotherapist or apersonal trainer, who can help
create an exercise programspecifically for you so they can
take into account your BIIsymptoms where you have pain,
(16:51):
your limitations, yourrestrictions, your energy levels
, all of that and this can be agreat way to make sure you're
doing exercises that supportyour health and won't aggravate
any symptoms that you'reexperiencing.
If you need help with that,feel free to reach out to me.
And lastly, find small ways tostay active throughout your day.
(17:15):
Take short walks, stretch whenyou can, and find little moments
to move your body.
Even small, consistent movementcan make a big difference in
how you feel and it really it'slike a compound effect.
You know it's all of thoselittle movements that you do
throughout the day really add upand so, yeah, I just, you know,
(17:39):
build, build a littlestretching into your morning
routine.
Try and get a little stretch inbefore you go to bed, even if
it's just a little something toease your neck and shoulders.
You know, it really is just sohelpful to start being more
mindful of how you're movingyour body throughout the day.
(18:00):
I've linked to a couple ofvideos I added to YouTube before
my explant surgery showing yousome pre-surgery exercises and
stretches that might feel goodfor you, so you can check those
out.
It's actually kind of funny forme looking back on those videos
, because I had my breastimplants and I can kind of like
remember how it felt and just Ilook at where I'm at now and how
(18:26):
my body feels now and I look atme then and I just remember
being so lethargic and doingthose stretches, feeling like it
was such a big effort.
And now I don't know, I justfeel like a new woman, I feel
like I've been blessed with anew body.
It's like the same but new, andit's really a big, big
(18:51):
difference.
So, like I said, um, meetyourself where you're at right
now and as you're going throughthese exercises and stretches
and as you're feeling things inyour body, I just really
recommend that you kind of takenote of that.
I love journaling.
I think it's really helpfulhere.
(19:11):
You can also use the symptomstracker that I've got the free
symptoms tracker that I've got,and you can take a note of where
you're feeling tightness, whereyou might get breast pain, when
you feel out of breath, whichmuscles are feeling really
fatigued or weak, and by takingnote of that and just being
(19:34):
mindful of it it's not aboutshaming yourself or putting
yourself down or gettingdepressed over it, it's just
about being mindful and aware ofit so that then, when you
explant and you've healed andyou do those same movements and
exercises, you can really noticethe shift in your body.
(19:59):
And in that moment, in thosemoments after surgery it'll be
enough to bring tears to youreyes.
I promise you it did for me,because it was like, oh my gosh,
I can do this without pain.
Now I can do this with energy.
I can run for more than like 30seconds, 20 seconds, without
(20:22):
being out of breath and in pain.
The transformation is real andso, yeah, just kind of treat now
as a bit of an experiment and away to really connect with your
body and find compassion foryour body and excitement for
what's to come.
(20:43):
If you're feeling overwhelmed orunsure about exercise before
your explant surgery, justremember it's about being kind
to your body and findingmovement that works for you now.
It's not about setting anycrazy fitness goals, just
getting to your explant day.
Feeling surgery strong.
(21:05):
That is totally a hashtag soyou can recover as quickly as
possible.
As you're preparing for yoursurgery, don't forget to
download my 33-step explantplanning checklist at
checklistempoweredexplantcom.
It's packed with tips to helpyou feel more prepared and
(21:26):
confident going into yoursurgery.
And hey, you know, if you foundthis episode helpful, my ask is
that you share it with anotherbreasty preparing for explant
surgery and maybe even becomeaccountability buddies as you
get surgery strong.
More women need to really geton board with giving themselves
(21:53):
the love and self-care they need, their body needs, before they
go into surgery.
And you know, this recoveryjourney, this healing journey,
begins now.
I'll see you here next weekBreasties.