Posted on: Nov 27, 2012 03:58AM - edited May 17, 2018 08:30PM by hugz4u

hugz4u wrote:

Posted this in kick butt thread but thought it would be great for all. Super easy. Pictures at bottom of post

Ok girls, This could be done if you can't get exercise in. You probably could even do it in a public washroom,well, maybe not the small stall,but the big wheelchair stall! My MLD girl said TAI CHI exercises have been studied with lymphedema and are excellent to stimulate Lymphatics. This is the exercise she gave to me but I forgot about it. I think I will try to incorperate it into my busy schedule. On the bottom of the sheet is says PILLER, NB(2007) Lymphoedema Assemssment clinic- Flinders Medical Centre: Based on Clinical trial outcomes, Lymphology 2004 So the exercise given was studied in a trial. YEAH!

Starting here I will type word for word from the sheet she gave me:

This exercise will help improve lymph flow from your arms and help reduce the size of your arms.

Perform this exercise 5 times on each of 5 occasions per day (when you wake up, at lunch time, at aafternooon tea, after dinner and just before you go to bed).

It works best if you leave your sleeve on if you wear one.

The most important ones are when you wake up and when you go to bed as this will help clear accumlated fluids from your tummy and chest area and allow the lymph fluid to better drain from your arms.

How to perform the exercise

(it's a little like how you would welcome a friend-but slower)

1) Point your fingers towards your chest (breast bone)

2)Slowly open your arms out ( as you would welcome a friend)

3)While still breathing in open your arms out as much as possible and put your hands back as far as you can-ensuring that you stretch and tighten your muscle in your hands and forearms and upper arms.

4)Hold your arms like this (while still holding your breath) for 3-4 seconds

5) Relax your muscles of your hands and arms and while slowly breathing OUT as much as you can, return your arms to the postion as in point 1 where your fingers are again pointing towards your chest

6) The whole exercise shoud be done SLOWLY and each one should take about 10 seconds. REPEAT 5 times.

That was the instruction sheet she gave me. I might add that when you breathe out you could bend over and make your back like a letter "C." This would compress the air out and pump the lymphatic system deeper. Just like when Sherry Lebed hugs a beach ball and bends over and breathes out.

This exercise should be easy enough for those with limited abilities. Let me know if you are going to try it. Lets call it the TAI CHI BREATHER seeing that it had no formal name on the exercise sheet. Out of curiousity, I would like to know if it bothers anyones LE or improves flow.

I could see how this could be very relaxing and calm the nervous system if done slowly.

• Edit
• Delete