Breast Augmentation and the Athlete: What Women Need to Know

I know for a fact a lot of women out there – from runners, Power lifters, Cross Fitters, and others – who are contemplating this surgery. I’ve even heard a certain exercise group referred to as a cult of “boob shrinkers,” so I know the phenomenon of losing body fat in less than ideal places was not unique to my personal fitness journey. And I know these women contemplating the surgery have questions – questions unique to athletic women.

The biggest thing for an athletic woman to consider when choosing a doctor is her doctor’s feelings on exercise. There is a surprisingly huge range of opinions in the medical field when it comes to exercise post-surgery. It’s strangely similar to how doctors treat exercise and pregnancy, and for the same underlying reason – liability. Your doctor doesn’t want to be responsible for anything you might have go wrong, so the advice you get will be overly, and possibly unnecessarily, precautionary.

In particular there is a condition after breast augmentation that sometimes occurs, called “capsular contracture.” This is something all women are warned about before surgery and is essentially a condition where the scar tissue hardens around the implant. While, according to my doctor, there has been no proven link between exercise and the occurrence of capsular contracture, doctors don’t want to create any sort of connection between it and their advice on exercise either. In fact, in my searches I could find no studies that stated the cause of capsular contracture at all, rather they all stated the cause was unknown and most likely “multi-factorial.”

First and foremost, find a doctor who understands fitness is important to you. Don’t go to a doctor who told you in your consultation you shouldn’t work out for three months after surgery. If a doctor says that, go somewhere else. If he/she tells you you’ll never do push-ups again, go somewhere else.

You might think I’m kidding, but these were things either said to me or to women who have since shared their stories with me.

Likewise, if a doctor does not ask you about your fitness routine and you have to prompt the discussion of how to remain active through your recovery, that should give you pause, as well.

Training During Recovery:

1.  You are recovering from surgery, which is a major trauma to the body, and will require more rest than normal for a while.
2.  Don’t do any upper-body exercises for two – four weeks.

Just remember – if it feels funny, don’t do it; if it feels okay, don’t worry about it.

One thing I learned the hard way during my recovery was the importance of hydration.  A week-long calf cramp in my right leg that might have been alleviated had I been more tuned in to my extra need for water during that time period.

Breast augmentation surgery is no different than any other “injury.” If you injured your hand, or foot, or elbow, you would find ways to swap out exercises and keep yourself moving that felt right to you. Depending on the incision site some exercises may be quicker to get back to than others, but rather than being a hindrance to your recovery, being in good health is more likely to help you recover quicker.

The best advice I can give you is to take your time. Find the right doctor, the right clinic, and everything else that lines up with your vision of yourself post-surgery.