Arm movement after breast cancer treatment

Radiotherapy and surgery for breast cancer can affect the range of movement and strength in your arm or shoulder.

Movement and strength in your arm and shoulder

Radiotherapy and surgery, especially to the armpit, can affect the range of movement and strength in your arm or shoulder. This may change your ability to do daily activities, such as household tasks or your work. It may also interfere with some types of exercise, such as swimming or tennis.

After breast surgery, a physiotherapist usually gives you exercises that will help you recover shoulder movement. Doing these exercise after breast surgery will help your arm and shoulder movement slowly improve. The hospital may also give you written information explaining how to do the exercises.

If problems with your arm and shoulder continue or develop later, it is called a late effect.

Tips to help improve movement and strength

See a physiotherapist

Ask your cancer doctor or specialist nurse to refer you to a physiotherapist. They will assess you and show you some exercises to improve movement and strength. If your problems continue, they may be able to give you different exercises. Having good posture is also important. Your physiotherapist can give you advice about this.

Tell your doctor if you have pain

Problems with pain may mean that you are not using your arm or shoulder properly. This can make things worse. Your doctor can also prescribe painkillers to help improve movement and stiffness.

Relax your muscles before exercising

Take painkillers half an hour (30 minutes) before you exercise, or have a warm bath. This can help relax your muscles. If you still cannot do your exercises, or you find them painful, then stop.

Avoid doing things that cause pain

Avoid lifting or carrying heavy things with the affected arm and shoulder if it hurts. Use a shopping trolley instead of a basket, or shop online and get heavy things delivered. Try to make sure that objects you use often are easy to reach.

See an occupational therapist

If you are having difficulty doing daily tasks, ask your specialist nurse or your GP to refer you to an occupational therapist (OT). They can assess your needs and suggest aids or equipment to help you.

Accept offers of help

Let people know what kind of practical help you need. This may include shopping, taking the rubbish out or mowing the lawn.

Ask about complementary therapies

Complementary therapies such as relaxation or deep breathing exercises may be helpful. Ask your cancer doctor, specialist nurse or physiotherapist for advice on these before you start.

About our information

  • References

    Below is a sample of the sources used in our late effects of breast cancer information. If you would like more information about the sources we use, please contact us at cancerinformationteam@macmillan.org.uk

    Curigliano et al 2020. Management of cardiac disease in cancer patients throughout oncological treatment: ESMO consensus recommendations. Annals of Oncology. Vol 31 (2). Available from: www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(19)36080-6/pdf [accessed November 2021].

    Fabi et al 2020. Cancer-related fatigue: ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment. Annals of Oncology. Available from: www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(20)36077-4/pdf [accessed November 2021].

    National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management. NG101. Available from: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng101 [accessed November 2021].

  • Reviewers

    This information has been written, revised and edited by Macmillan Cancer Support’s Cancer Information Development team. It has been reviewed by expert medical and health professionals and people living with cancer. It has been approved by Dr Rebecca Roylance, Consultant Medical Oncologist and Professor Mike Dixon, Professor of Surgery and Consultant Breast Surgeon.

    Our cancer information has been awarded the PIF TICK. Created by the Patient Information Forum, this quality mark shows we meet PIF’s 10 criteria for trustworthy health information.

The language we use

We want everyone affected by cancer to feel our information is written for them.

We want our information to be as clear as possible. To do this, we try to:

  • use plain English
  • explain medical words
  • use short sentences
  • use illustrations to explain text
  • structure the information clearly
  • make sure important points are clear.

We use gender-inclusive language and talk to our readers as ‘you’ so that everyone feels included. Where clinically necessary we use the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’ or ‘male’ and ‘female’. For example, we do so when talking about parts of the body or mentioning statistics or research about who is affected.

You can read more about how we produce our information here.

Date reviewed

Reviewed: 01 July 2023
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Next review: 01 July 2026
Trusted Information Creator - Patient Information Forum
Trusted Information Creator - Patient Information Forum

Our cancer information meets the PIF TICK quality mark.

This means it is easy to use, up-to-date and based on the latest evidence. Learn more about how we produce our information.