Exercise definitely helps me, although it is not enough on its own to keep me in remission. I had started exercising after I first got into remission back in 2011. I had lost a lot of muscle mass thanks to Entocort, so I started lifting weights. I started slowly and gradually as I didn't want to stress my body too much all at once. I started lifting light weights twice per week. That went well, so I went up three times per week and slowly increased the amount of weight I was lifting. I felt great for 2 years while I was in remission & exercising regularly (I mainly lift but I also do things like yoga and some cardio - I can't jog due to hip arthritis, it's too high impact and too painful, but I do things like ride my bike and that is fine on my bad hips).
In 2013, I fell out of remission and spent a year in a mild flare. I fell out of remission because they suddenly stopped making regular Asacol in the US, and I struggled to find another maintenance med that worked as well for me. During that time is when I entered a mild flare, and I stayed in that flare for about a year. I did continue to exercise during that time. I'm not sure, but I suspect that exercise at least played a part in keeping my flare mild. There were times that I wasn't able to exercise, but when I was able to then I hit the gym every chance I got.
Most of 2014 I spent back on Entocort trying to get out of the flare, still exercising the whole time. I haven't been off of Entocort for very long at this point, so I'm still not totally sure, but it's seeming like I might be back in remission again. I've had the flu since xmas so I haven't been exercising much lately (it's mainly respiratory symptoms which are affecting my ability to breathe properly, so I've mainly been doing yoga lately as it's difficult to do weights and cardio is just not happening). So 2015 is off to a bit of a rough start, but once I shake this flu, I should hopefully be in good shape guts-wise and fitness-wise.
So yes, in a nutshell, exercise has helped me. I feel like it helps me sleep better, it definitely helps me de-stress and deal with things much better. It's made me a calmer, happier person for sure. And as I said, it may have played some part in keeping my flare mild. Exercise has also definitely helped my arthritis - there's less pain and I think I've slowed the progression of it. And, maybe the most important thing - exercise lets me feel like a normal person! Most of the time, I have to be careful about things and watch what I eat and always keep my health issues on my mind, I always just feel like a sick girl. When I go to the gym, I feel powerful and strong and awesome - and normal. I only really have to be careful of my hips and my abdominals (if I do too much ab work then my acid reflux takes revenge on me). I don't feel like a sick girl when I'm in the gym, I just feel like a normal girl (or sometimes even an awesome powerful warrior woman), and that's an amazing feeling.
I would say to wait until your son is back in remission, but when he is, see what activities he would like to try - there's so much, especially this time of year there's ice skating and snowshoeing and skiing, etc. It doesn't have to be just strictly, go to a gym and do a workout - he could join a sports team or just go for a walk or whatever. There may be things that your son isn't able to do - jogging isn't something I'd personally recommend (even if he doesn't have arthritis, jogging can also jostle the guts and make things unhappy in there). Cardio in general is probably something best to avoid if he's underweight as that'll tend to do more for weight loss than it will for muscle-building. But don't box him in, let him pick what he wants to do. Me, I love ice skating in the winter and kayaking in the summer! Both are great workouts but just feel like fun. I think that's the key, he'll stick with something if he finds it fun - that's definitely the case for me. So have fun with it and don't push him too much, but do try to let him explore his various fitness options and find something he wants to do and has fun with. Good luck!
