Published Sep 30, 2020

Cancer Warrior Abby Lee Miller Hits Major Milestone In Physical Therapy After Two Years Of Hard Work

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Closing a Chapter

Abby Lee Miller has finished her outpatient physical therapy appointments.
Miller has been in physical therapy since 2018.
She has been confined to an electric wheelchair since suffering complications from spinal surgery to treat Burkitt Lymphoma.

Dance Moms’ coach Abby Lee Miller, 54, has closed the chapter on a huge part of her life, physically therapy. She’s been attending sessions for years, and thanks to her hard work, she’s taking a much-deserved break.

Miller announced to fans that she has finished outpatient physical therapy appointments, and shared a sweet group photo with her therapists to celebrate and thanked them for all their help. Miller has been attending sessions at California Rehab Institute in Century City, California since experiencing complications from spinal surgery to treat Burkitt Lymphoma. She was diagnosed with the disease in April 2018, and has been confined to an electric wheelchair since surgery.

The Dance Moms star knows gain doesn’t come without pain, and whether it’s doing DIY workouts in her living room, pushing it with her physical therapy team, or just wading in the pool, Miller hasn’t stopped working.

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How Physical Therapy Helps After Cancer Surgery

Miller has been taking the right approach during her physical therapy sessions. It’s important to not stress your body and hit the gym with full force, but studies have shown that light exercise can help patients recover faster after cancer surgery.

A personalized physical therapist can help you evaluate where you are strength-wise before starting physical therapy. From there, they can create a specific workout plan for you helping with side-effects that may be lingering after treatment. These side-effects may include changes in balance, mobility, consistent fatigue, nausea, and more. Plus, working out regularly improves circulation throughout the body, so any wounds left from surgery may heal faster.

"A lot of the side effects that happen from cancer treatment can be improved or significantly reduced with physical therapy. Physical therapists can help with assessing any issues with range of motion, mobility, fatigue, balance, and then create a program that is very much a prescriptive program," Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, an oncology physical therapist for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine, tells SurvivorNet. "So, a program that's based on what you are at the time of your treatments. They can work with you before chemotherapy to get your baseline and get you on a program to help reduce the symptoms that may happen from chemotherapy."

Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos explains how a physical therapist can help you recover after cancer surgery

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