Sports and Crohn's disease

[Kaitlyn]

My son, 14, plays football he has always played sports even after his dignosies. This year he started playing for his high school he plays on JV. He has done good for the majority of the summer untill recently he has been getting sick more. I'm worried about him because he loves playing sports but if all this exercise is making him worse i don't want him playing. My older son ended up quiting sports beacuse of his Crohn's. also how can I mkae his coach more aware about his Crohn's ?? I just am so worried about him getting worse from playing sports (I know it's probably pretty stupid to be so worried but I am )

 

[Brian'sMom]

I always worried too -about the calories being burned off and he'd get hurt- (Mine plays soccer). But our GI clinic has always encouraged playing sports.

 

[my little penguin]

We were told it is good for them to play .
That is how the Gi measures disease activity for DS .
He swims so we have independently timed races same distance from before dx and since .
It really works .

 

[Sascot]

This is a really difficult one. I suppose it depends on the coach. My son loves football and tried really hard to keep playing but has just had to give it up as he kept missing training.
All you can do is try to speak to the coach and explain things and hope that they are sympathetic. It may be no problem.

 

[DustyKat]

My son also plays football (soccer). When he was diagnosed the season had not long finished so through much of his complications period it was off season from the main comp. He had surgery in the April (2011) with the season starting in May. He couldn't wait to get into and started training at 5 weeks post op and has been playing since, both Summer and Winter comps.

Matt was a little older than your lad but I explained to him the need to listen to his body and respect what it was telling him. I told his coach and sports teacher at school what he had been through, what I expected of Matt and what I expected of them. Matt is the sort of kid that lives for sport so I asked that they keep a good eye on him generally and how he is performing and moving. I said to them that they knew him well enough pre diagnosis to know if something was "off". I also told them that they knew he would never pull out of an activity unless he absolutely had to so that being the case if he ever asked to sit something out or to be substituted when playing then they respect that he knows what he is doing and permit it.

Good luck! I hope you are able to get things sorted hun. :ghug:

Dusty. xxx

 

[rygon]

I have quite a few hobbies (kickboxing, skydiving, snowboarding, rock climbing, jogging nd gym) and although I do notice a difference after exercising I do few much worse if I have a long period off from any of them.

As said, you just have to listen to your body and know when to say no, but to be honest that doesnt happen much as long as you allow your body to rest. Ive just started to take a glutamine to help repair my body.

Heres a quick link on it http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/glutamine.htm

 

[Johnnysmom]

Johnny had to take some time off from basketball when he was first diagnosed. He now plays like any other kid and I think the activity is really good for him.

Football however is a different animal. They practice in the heat of the summer and really push those kids to a point that is extreme. Not all coaches are like that but I would hang out at practice and find out if Ryan's is. A lot of kids end up vomiting because of dehydration, heat and over working themselves. I only see it really affect Johnny if his is playing in a gym that is not air conditioned in the summer and the plays the whole game. And the other boys struggled as well.

That being said there are a few pro football players that have had crohn's and it isn't public and I assume didn't affect their performance enough to get them off the team.

Is his crohn's in control? Is this something that other kids are struggling with too and it just feels like crohn's is to blame? Is he still having some affects from that virus he had a few weeks ago? (Do I remember correctly that he struggled with a bad virus??) Is he losing weight?

I do know that Johnny has to be more careful about playing sports. He stays hydrated, eats extra calories and listens to his body when he isn't feeling well. We cut out swimming and football because they were high calorie burning and johnny loved basketball more anyways.

I hope Ryan can continue playing football if that is the sport he loves. I am sure you will both figure it out together. ((((hugs)))))

 

[DanceMom]

My daughter dances and tumbles and her doctors have always encouraged physical activity. She loves what she does and her dance friends have become a great support system for her as well. I do notice a difference in her performance level when she is flaring though. Her tumbling isn't as strong and she has trouble focusing when learning new routines. (And prednisone makes for a fearless tumbler!! lol) The coaches work with her without babying her and we appreciate that.

One thing I've found is that A needs to drink more and rest more than other kids her age. She has an earlier bedtime and her water bottle is always near. I do worry, at times, that she is pushing herself too hard but part of the disease process is learning your body and limitations. Sometimes she learns the hard way (and always says it was worth it, lol).

 

[DJW]

I'm a firm believer in doing what you love. Flares sometime make it hard but getting back on the ice for hockey, cycling or baseball always kept me looking forward. It motivated me when I was really sick. I played varsity rugby between flares (gave rugby up after my ileo surgery).

 

[DJW]

Rygon-love your post. Once through this flare I want to start Cravmaga (sp?) or kick boxing. At least the training part. Shydiving is on my bucket list.

 

[Tesscorm]

My son plays hockey and I was worried as well about the exertion and injury (GI also said he could do whatever he felt capable of doing). When he was diagnosed, he was playing on two hockey teams (so, on ice, probably, 5+ times per week) plus was in two phys.ed. classes at school (so, 2+ hours every day)! I spoke with all his coaches and teachers, explained his diagnosis and requested that they both watch out for him and respect if he needed to rest. Also, stressed to Stephen that he had to listen to his body and not push himself if he felt something felt 'off'.

We had only one issue - he did feel some pain with long distance 5K running (but not when running 'sprints', such as in a soccer game, etc.)... unfortunately, one teacher obviously just didn't 'get' it and, when S would walk instead of running, teacher made comments like 'no pain, no gain' :ymad: but S told the teacher it was crohns pain and he was going to walk. Teacher let it go but it did annoy me that, after our conversation, he still made S feel that he had to justify himself.

It did take S a few weeks to get back to his pre-diagnosis strength and stamina (had to regain weight, etc.) but, after a gradual 'rebuild' he was back to normal and actually, the hockey season following diagnosis, was his best ever.

As for injuries, unrelated to crohns, he did end up with a separated shoulder and a knee injury but, neither affected his crohns nor did I see that crohns affected his recoveries at all.

I think most important is that your son understand that he has to listen to his body. I stressed to S that if he ignored cues to avoid missing a game or practice, he would end up missing a lot more if he ended up flaring due to overexertion.

 

[Jmrogers4]

My 14 year old son plays football as well for the freshman team at his high school. I worry more about his size and getting crushed then the actual playing/conditioning. We've had a conversation with his coach about Crohn's and that there may be days he will not be able to play or will have to stop during a game. They have worked out a hand signal so Coach knows if he has to get Jack out.
I really went back and forth about letting him play this year as he is only 5'1" and 96 lbs but he really loves it and told me he didn't care if he only went in for a play here and there, he just wants to be part of the team, so we've started calling him Rudy (If you've seen the movie you will get it).
He has had to sit out a practice a few times in the last few days, the smoke from the wild fires is hanging in the air and it seems to set him off, we experienced the same thing last year when the wild fires hit. Sure would be nice to catch a break from them.