Is exercise always beneficial?

[mikeyarmo]

I wanted to know whether everyone here some sort of exercise was beneficially when going through flairs or even "normal" life with IBD. When I say exercising I also do not mean running for an hour or lifting heavy weights, but even just taking a walk daily.

I know when things were bad for me I would still try to walk a bit. I really would slack off as things got a bit worse, as I just felt so tired. But I really think it was still beneficial to walk. With a high water intake it can help keep things moving in the body and keep constipation from occuring.

Obviously when a person is currently in a flair, I do not think they should do anything but rest. But other times I think walking is beneficial. Even if you feel tired, walking I feel was still beneficial and I wish I had pushed myself to do it more. Once I was done I would also likely be more tired (even though I often felt tired all day) and would fall asleep much faster at night. If you always are tired but have trouble falling asleep then I would try to exercise a bit during the day to tire yourself out.

In the hospital, I know that gas pain was one of the things I found to be awful. You can not use morphine to numb the pain, but just have to wait and let it pass. The best way to deal with it is to walk, and this often helped the gas pass very fast (if not immeadiately). When you are in pain in bed though you feel like the only thing you can do is wait in bed for it to pass. But taking the initiative to get up and walk will likely get rid of the gas pain pretty fast. So just because you think rest may be the best thing you can do, I would recommend walking whenever you are capable of to take advantage of its other benefits.

 

[DarrylP_Ajax]

Personaly, when i began my first flair in January i stopped all physical exercise whatsoever. I mainly did this because the general rule to follow when weight training / body building is if you get sick (flu, cold, blah blah) working out will only stress your system more and you will end up losing muscle, rather then gaining. I applied the same rule with Crohns, stopped working out all together (for almost 8 months) until i had the disease under control, once i got to this point i started back up in the gym and boy did the gains come big

 

[Jeff D.]

I feel that when I flare if I just do ten pushups every hour or so then I feel much better. It won't stop my symptoms but it helps me to get the blood flowing and doing push ups is not a very hard thing to do. If you can't do regular push ups then you could just do "granny" pushups or with your knees on the ground. You could also do incline push ups on stairs and it helps as well. I like the idea about the walk. I would often have my parents put the treadmill near the bathroom walk on that for a few moments and it would send me running to the bathroom. Of course though you really need to take in lots and lots of water and drink lemon juice straight up without sugar as it will replenish electrolytes in your system which you need for the D and the C.

 

[kix66]

I by no means go above and beyond as far as exercise goes. Take a walk?...no way when I'm not sure if I'll need to make a run for a bathroom. The clench and walk/run only works for a short time! I do try to do stretching and mild yoga on a nightly basis. Also marching/walking in place. I'm sure it's beneficial.

 

[KCMike]

Exercise

It's been over 6 weeks since my surgery and I worked out for the first time last night. Treadmill for 20 minutes and some light weights. That was all that I could handle. It's going to be awhile before I can get back to the level I'm used to. My surgeon told I can't do any situps or heavy weights yet. I think it is possible to exercise too much. Your body will let you know.

 

[Jeff D.]

You don't need to do a lot just enough to keep the blood flowing.

 

[GoBucks26]

I run when not in a flare- but when in a flare I will sometimes 'pace' the house in between bathroom trips to both give me something to do besides stare blankly at a tv and also to get my body moving.

 

[carolinajak]

I think exercise goes a long way to keeping your body healthy enough to fight flare ups and Crohns in general.

I am 6 weeks out of my second surgery (1 month apart). I started working out last week, sit ups, push ups, hiking, yoga. I introduced them one at a time, walking, then hiking, then yoga, then push ups and sit ups. You have to take it easy after surgery, you can easily pull muscles badly, but I have found that as long as your careful and listen to your body, exercise decreases recovery time and helps symptoms. I used this same workout regime after my first surgery, and I think it is one of the reasons I have faired so well recently.

 

[KCMike]

exercise

I'm nowhere near the level of physical activity that I was a year ago but just being able to do some form of exercise has done wonders for me mentally. I was basically "sick" all summer and that severely limited my ability to do anything physical. A little means a lot.

 

[Jeff D.]

Definitely helps the mind, the spirit, the soul.

 

[robert.k]

What's so depressing for me about this subject is that strict exercise and healthy dieting has been such a big part of my life since I was about 17 (I'm 24, now). I started hitting the gym in high school and I felll in love with it immediately.

What I find one of the most upsetting things about suffering Crohn's is that I get depressed and don't want to do anything. In my mind, I ask myself what the point of going to the gym is if my body can't properly digest the food it needs to recuperate properly from the training session and adapt? What's the point of exercising if my body doesn't properly process the energy I need to fuel the workout? See what I mean? Although I know this isn't the best perspective, I sometimes have that 'all-or-nothing' mentality in the gym. Especially in regards to suffering from Crohn's. When I'm having a flare-up (right now!), the last thing I want to do is go to the gym and have a real training session.

As such, I've actually decided to take the entire month of March OFF while I wait for two examinations (small bowel follow through and a colonoscopy, both this month).

But to the OP: I should take a page out of your playbook, there is absolutely NO DOUBT in my mind that regular light exercises, like the walking you're recommending, will provide benefits. We all know that everything we do in our lifestyles affects our overall health. Although eating right and exercising properly and sleeping well and proper stress-management lifestyle choices might not 'cure' us all of our health problems, these choices can only provide benefit.

/rant.

 

[carolinajak]

robert, ive had a similar experience with exercising and am actually training now to work my way up to a triathlon this summer, after two major surgeries this past fall. my big thing i couldnt do any of the stuff I was use to. one major help for me was doing more yoga. i could do some exercises without using my abs to much. it also does not shoot up your calorie needs that much but still allows you to gain strength. not to mention the mental strengthening side of it.

 

[robert.k]

Ya, I've heard good things about yoga. I might give it a try, someday. I've always been first and foremost into strength training, you know, bench press, squats, deadlifts, chin-ups, dips, barbell lunges, push presses, etc... now it seems like I won't be able to down the same volume of food I've been doing for so long. I might need to find other activities that are less calorically intensive so that I won't have to eat as much.

Were your surgeries this fall due to your Crohn's issues or for other reasons?

 

[carolinajak]

yup, for crohns.

some more advanced yoga techniques require a lot of strength. they are quite challenging, and in my experiences more rewarding than lifting to conquer. but i know where your coming from. i dont get into super heavy weights, but i do a lot of body resistance training and have had to slowly work back into things.

 

[robert.k]

that's true, some of those yoga movements/positions do require a great deal of strength to perform. maybe i'll give it a try. it really sucks when crohn's removes something so important to me. but then, it comes down to perception. instead of saying 'remove', i should rephrase and say 'interferes with or changes'.

ah well.

 

[KCMike]

I used to lift a lot prior to being diagnosed with crohn's last summer. I'm no body builder by any means. I had 12 inches of my colon and appendix removed last october due to major blockage and the surgeon said I can't do any ab exercises for about a year but I can lift light weights. I'm doing a lot of reps now with light weights. I like it better this way. I'm probably not as strong as I used to be but I have more definition and it's a lot easier on my back. I used to have a lot of lower back pain. I used to think that you had to lift the maximum to have any results. I just feel lucky to be able to lift anything.

 

[KCMike]

Hey jak,

I think that's awesome that you are going for a triathalon. That's way out of my league. I can run and bike but the swimming would kick my arse.

robert-I can see why you are frustrated that you can't workout at the level you are used to but that doesn't mean you'll never be at that level again. you can only do what your body tells you. dealing with crohn's is one helluva workout.

 

[Antithesis]

Personally I like to stretch a bit. I took enough yoga/massage therapy classes/martial arts to know how to stretch and appriciate it. It's completely low-impact and 10 minutes in the morning really helps me out

 

[marcia]

When I am in a flare I usually stop most of my exercise. I was training for a marathon before my current flare but that has been put on hold. But I find that if I do absolutely nothing I feel even worse so I make sure I stretch or do some yoga ~ something very light and easy. Just walking across the street to the mailbox can exhaust me so I try not to do much but stretching does make me have a little more energy. Usually about 10-15 minutes in the morning (mornings are the times of the days I usually feel the best).

 

[pb4]

I exercised while flaring and along with the natural products I use I firmly believe that the exercising helped me feel better CD wise...exercise is extreamly important for normal bowel function...not too much because that then cause free radicals which is not good for the body, it causes inflammation...usually 4-5 days a week at about 1-1 1/2 hrs/day...of combined cardio and weights. I continue exercising to keep fit and for my bowels. I also drink plenty of water.

There are nothing but benefits when exercising regularly, I sleep all through the night and it helped me combat my severe depression (suicidal) and anxiety (wouldn' leave the house) and many more benefits so I definitely say do it, and if you're having a severe flare find another form of exercising like some form of yoga (there are many to choose from) this would be even more beneficial then just walking alone, put the 2 together and it's even better. Then when you're able to get your flare under better control or even out of it go for cardio and weight training...your body and mind will love you for it.