How soon after the Breast Reduction surgery can I dance/ exercise?

Thank you for your question. After breast reduction surgery, it is often possible to return to work within just a couple of days, depending on your job. In many instances, you can resume most of your normal activities, including some form of mild exercise, after several weeks. You may continue to experience some mild, periodic discomfort during this time, but such feelings are normal. Severe pain should be reported to our office.

Any sexual activity should be avoided for a minimum of one week. After that, care must be taken to be extremely gentle with your breasts for at least the next six weeks. Best of luck!Dhaval M. Patel Double board certified Plastic surgeon Hoffman Estates Barrington Oakbrook Chicago 

Surgical techniques continuously improve, allowing recovery time following #breast reduction surgery to often be reduced. However, your return to #exercise activities may take an extended period of time to ensure that your breast tissue has sufficient time to properly heal. #Swelling and inflammation are common following breast reduction surgery. Immediately following surgery, exercise is not advised. It can be jarring to your breast tissue and increase the risk for complications such as bleeding and excessive swelling.After the first two weeks following surgery, you may return to “light” #activities but no lifting. You can begin walking for exercise to help you burn calories. This type of exercise does not place excess strain on your chest wall, and is the best exercise to perform in the weeks following surgery. After about four to six weeks and with your physician's approval, you can begin to return to the typical exercises you engaged in before surgery. Start small with lower-impact activities and listen to your body. If you begin to experience pain or discomfort with exercise, stop. Post-exercise swelling also can indicate you have overdone your exercise routine. For the best results following surgery, make sure you follow ALL of your post-op instructions.

Chicago Board Certified Plastic Surgeon, Dr. Michael A. Epstein responds on video regarding how soon to exercise after breast reduction surgery.

I typically tell my patients to avoid lifting, pulling, or pushing anything over 10 lbs for 4-6 weeks from your date of surgery. Depending on how strenuous the dancing is, you can resume it within 2-4 weeks after your surgery. I would check with your surgeon for a definitive answer.

This is a question that should be addressed to your own surgeon. On balance most patients can resume normal everyday activity immediately. Dancing that would not involve significant movement of the breast would be permissible in my practice any time.