Everything is fine after surgery? Shoulder and neck exercises are indispensable for thyroid cancer patients after surgery

by Specialist

There are 25% to 57% of thyroid cancer patients have shoulder functional impairment after surgery, which is manifested as neck pain and stiffness, shoulder stiffness, and inability to lift the upper limbs, which adversely affects patients’ daily life and physical and mental health. Studies have shown that early postoperative shoulder and neck functional exercises for thyroid cancer patients are beneficial to improve the problem of neck and shoulder injury.

A few simple movements to return your shoulder and neck to flexibility as usual!

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The following list of functional neck and shoulder exercises after thyroid cancer surgery is for your reference.

Perform upper extremity flexion and extension exercises and upper extremity muscle isometric contraction exercises

Neck exercises:

After the removal of the stitches, the neck does forward bending, backward tilting, left and right rotation, and left and right lateral bending, i.e. “rice” exercises

Time Content of the campaign Frequency

2 to 5 days post-op

Right and left lateral neck movements with <60 degrees of amplitude; up and down movement of the neck with <30 degrees of amplitude, alternating.

Do the above movements continuously, repeating them at least 10 times each time, 3 times a day

5 to 10 days postoperative

Shoulder exercises:

Including forward lift, shrug, back extension, internal extension, lateral lift, internal rotation and external rotation, and upper arm wall climbing

Do the above movements continuously for 3 to 5 minutes each time, 3 times a day

Safety tips for exercise

    When you first start exercising, you should move slowly and gently, and the range of motion should not be too large. Gradually increase the number of exercises, and gradually increase the strength and range of motion to what your body can tolerate.

  1. The above may not be suitable for patients with special conditions, such as those with bleeding, implants, etc.

  2. Functional shoulder and neck exercises should be continued after discharge to reduce the edema of the neck and to restore the function of the shoulder joint as well as the neck to normal.