ASBrS: Intensive Resistance Training Boosts Function After Breast Cancer Surgery

TUESDAY, May 5, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- A three-month supervised resistance training regimen yields meaningful functional gains in patients with breast cancer, regardless of surgical management of the breast and axilla, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, held from April 29 to May 3 in Seattle.Lucia Castro Hernandez, M.D., from Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, and colleagues examined the extent to which breast and axillary surgery influences objective functional recovery after a structured resistance training program for patients undergoing mastectomy (Mx) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). The analysis included 197 breast cancer survivors completing a three-month, in-person supervised resistance training regimen with dose escalation of compound movements and exercise volume to promote hypertrophy.The researchers found that both Mx and lumpectomy groups showed significant preregimen to postregimen improvements in body mass index, muscle mass percentage, body fat percentage, phase angle, Functional Movement Screen (FMS) score, composite load lifted, and load lifted for each movement pattern. Across all parameters, the extent of improvement did not differ by Mx or ALND status, except for greater Y-balance gains in patients without ALND. Older age (β = −0.09) and receipt of radiation (β = −0.86) were associated with lower baseline FMS score, while age alone predicted smaller FMS improvement (β = −0.05). There was a nonsignificant trend for less improvement in bench press load lifted with Mx. Roughly 18.5 percent of the variability in FMS scores was explained by baseline clinical and treatment factors, indicating a modest influence on initial functional status, but these factors accounted for only 6.7 percent of the variability in preprogram to postprogram FMS improvement, suggesting that functional gains were largely independent of surgical or treatment history and primarily driven by the exercise intervention."Women treated for breast cancer may have been subjected to more than a year of physically and psychologically traumatic therapies," coauthor Colin Champ, M.D., also from Allegheny Health, said in a statement. "They lose range of motion and muscle mass. This study demonstrates that even those treated with extensive surgeries can make enormous gains in a few months and achieve the same or greater strength, motion, and muscle mass than prior to surgery. They do not have to wait years to improve function and lifestyle."Press ReleaseMore Information.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

ASBrS: Intensive Resistance Training Boosts Function After Breast Cancer Surgery

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