Antwerp (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Antwerp hospitals ZAS and UZA introduce indoor rowing for cancer patients, offering a dynamic new rehabilitation method with powerful physical and mental benefits.
The Flemish Rowing League is a partner in the project, which might potentially be extended to other hospitals around the nation.
“Rowing gave me strength and self-confidence again,”
says former cancer patient Ann Ponnet.
Indoor rowing is now a structural part of cancer patients’ rehabilitation at the UZA or ZAS hospitals in Antwerp as of this month.
“The first reactions are already very positive,”
says Sven Denis, head physiotherapist at ZAS Cadix.
According to Denis, 85% of the muscles are used when rowing.
“In addition, endorphins are released during rowing, the happiness hormone. The patients often come from a deep valley and with this physical activity we try to help them out of that.”
“Physical activity works well against fatigue and muscle pain that our patients suffer from,”
Denis continues.
“By being able to do it indoors in a controlled setting, the patients feel safe.”
Customizing the instruction for each patient is crucial.
Ann Ponnet was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago.
“During my rehabilitation I discovered indoor rowing,”
she says.
“It gave me strength, structure and mental peace again. Rowing saved my life.”
Today she is the founder of the first indoor rowing club in Belgium.
“I thought the experience I had during my rehabilitation was great,”
says Ponnet.
“I thought it was crazy that so few people were involved in indoor rowing. That’s why I trained as a rowing coach and founded my own club.”
At the moment, 14 therapists and physiotherapists from the ZAS and UZA are receiving training to instruct patients in proper rowing technique. In addition to offering a follow-up program in 2026, the Flemish Rowing League is giving hospitals free access to a number of technologies. This will enable other hospitals to implement rowing as a form of rehabilitation.
“Exercise activates the mechanisms that keep cancer under control,”
says Professor Dr. Gaëtane Stassijns, head of the Department of Physical Medicine at the UZA.
“This allows our natural ‘killer cells’ to attack the tumor cells.”
In addition, chronic inflammation is reduced by exercise.
“And those inflammations in our bodies are an ideal environment for cancer,”
Stassijns continues.
“Moreover, our fat mass is a factory of products that activate inflammations. That fat mass also decreases by exercising.”
Rowing trains both your lower and upper limbs.
“It is also more technical and complex than running, for example, and that is very positive,”
says Stassijns.
“Too little attention is paid to the complexity of sports.”
How has rowing impacted the physical and mental recovery of cancer patients?
For patients who have lost muscle mass and tiredness as a result of cancer treatments, rowing is an essential full-body, low-impact activity that helps restore muscular strength and endurance.
By raising heart rate and oxygen flow, it enhances cardiovascular health and promotes general physical fitness and recuperation.
Benefits for breast cancer survivors include pain relief, improved muscle activation, increased upper limb range of motion, and improved strength and function.
By combining strength and aerobic endurance training with symmetrical movements, rowing helps normalize daily physical activity and decrease physical inactivity.
Among breast cancer survivors, a 12-week rowing program demonstrated statistically significant increases in physical activity levels and aspects of quality of life.
