Cancer Rehabilitation
Cancer, and cancer treatment, can be physically and mentally exhausting, leaving you deconditioned and fatigued, and at increased risk of fractures. Let us help you conquer your next mountain and achieve your goals.
"Physiotherapy and therapeutic exercise are crucial in managing and recovering from cancer"
Many physiotherapists lack the confidence to prescribe exercise to people with cancer. At Movement For Life Physiotheapy we've upskilled our team to understand the impact of cancer and cancer treatment, enabling us to provide a range of health care services designed to look after men, women, and children recovering from any type of cancer surgery or cancer treatments.
By combining evidence-based research with clinical experience and individual patient goals, we aim to promote physical and mental wellbeing, tissue healing, and optimal function through every stage of your cancer treatment and recovery journey.
Exercise is Safe
It is well documented that exercise prior to, during, and following treatment for cancer is beneficial and can significantly improve the impact of fatigue.
Exercise also plays a key part of lympoedema prevention and management and reducing the risk of bone related issues when bone metastases are present.
Regular High Intensity Interval Training benefits cancer survivors.
Chemotherapy and endocrine therapies that are common in cancer treatment can accelerate bone mineral density loss and increase the risk of fracture. Resistance exercise and high impact exercises such as bounding, skipping, squat jumps and leaping, when performed in a controlled environment and under the guidance of a physiotherapist, can improve strength and balance, improve bone mineral density and reduce the risk of falls and subsequent fractures. These exercise guidelines may benefit cancer survivors, particularly those with hormone-sensitive cancers like breast and prostate given their high risk for osteoporosis.
A balanced approach to exercise
The perceived and real risk of complications from exercise need to be weighed against the potential health benefits of exercise for cancer survivors. Risk assessments should be performed prior to commencing an exercise program and outcomes communicated with the treating medical team on an ongoing basis.
"30 minutes, three times a week"
Clinical evidence recommends people with cancer complete moderate-intensity aerobic exercise for 30 minutes three times per week and include strength training at least twice per week.
Regular exercise up to 150 minutes per week may have further protective effects of preventing cancer recurrence and reducing mortality.
And that exercise should be individually tailored based on the individual persons needs, in accordance with exercise principles such as specificity, progression, overload and FITT (frequency, intensity, time, type).
Our goal is to enable you to live a pain-free life, with full mobility.
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