Crohn's in a Decathlete

[grinty6287]

Hi All,

I am an Athletics Coach and have recently started coaching an athlete with Crohns. Any training or competitions where he has to run further than 200m usually leaves him in an extreme amount of pain with cramps and sickness. He is 16 years old.

My questions are does anyone have any experience with Crohns sufferers attempting sport and does anyone have any suggestions other than the obvious reduce solid foods before training and competitions.

Many Thanks

Lee

 

[DJW]

Hi. Glad to see you doing some research as a coach. When not in a flare I do all kings of sports (hockey, cycle, softball, weight lifting, etc). It's much tougher in a flare. It's important to find the foods that cause pain. The athlete may already have a food journal. I needed to gain weight when sick so I had a lot of high cal protien shakes. Ensure is good. Also check with the specialist if imodium is alright. Also watch fo dehydration. Avoid high sugar drinks...I like G2 or Poweraid Zero. Too much exertion can make flares worse. Proper rest is required. Hope this helps.

 

[Tesscorm]

My son was 16 when diagnosed and fairly athletic at the time. He was in two phys.ed. classes (2+ hours/day) plus played on two ice hockey teams and a ball hockey team. In addition, he sometimes played pick-up soccer, basketball, etc. with friends. For a period following his diagnosis (while working towards remission), he did have difficulty and pain with long distance running. Not sure if it was the constant bouncing?? because this was not an issue during games with shorter sprints such as you'd find in ball hockey or in soccer.

Also, my son had low HGB levels, which can be common with crohns - this might also be a factor at certain times.

I'm going to tag Crohnsinct - her daughter competes in swimming and track.

You may also want to look through the Parents subforum - athletics and crohns have been discussed on previous threads - may offer some info for you.

Also, want to say I think it's wonderful that, as a coach you are looking into this! My son had great coaches when he was diagnosed and the support he received from them made a huge difference for him!!

 

[rygon]

I'd suggest taking glutamine supplementation to help repair the body.

I'm quite sporty and do run every so often. I find if you do not allow sufficient rest time it takes its toll. If he is flaring then its going to be even harder on him.

Personally I find running on heels to put extra strain on my stomach and have found jogging on the ball of my feet to have helped a lot

 

[Clash]

My son played travel baseball, school baseball, football and wrestled. During hos dx and afterward while working toward remission he struggled with endurance probably due to anemia. But any drills that dealt with long distance running caused him pain, like Tesscorm said above. It could take him out of a practice far quicker than any other physical activity.

 

[crohnsinct]

I also want to say what a great coach you are to take the time to understand this disease! My daughter was lucky enough to have a wonderful swim coach who actually helped us get a diagnosis!

This disease is very different for each person but I would say 200 meters is not that far a distance and would hazard a guess that the athlete in question is probably in a flare and their Crohns is not currently under control. When in a flare all bets are off and they just have to really listen to their bodies. When in remission they could be just like any other athlete.

My daughter is a distance runner (cross country, 800 meter and mile and a swimmer). She was a triathlete but dropped the biking because it was getting too dangerous on the roads with all the texting drivers. Was recently starting to train for a half marathon but lost too much weight and her doc wants a cushion for flare times.

One thing she finds is when her water consumption throughout the day is not adequate she will have severe stomach pains. Way worse than she ever had prior to diagnosis. So I would tell him to make triple sure he is drinking throughout the day. My daughter carries a water bottle (doc wrote a note and the privelage is included in her 504 plan with the school) and fills it up at least twice throughout the day.

One of my daughter's favorite track t-shirt "XC/Track: Our sport is other sport's punishment". Her favorite swim t shirt "Stop playing with your balls and swim".

Good luck to you and your athlete!