Vigorous Exercise...yes or no?

Hi Everyone,

I was diagnosed with proctosigmoiditis 3 weeks ago and this is my first post. I've seen promising results from colozal and mesalamine enemas so far and would say I'm at about 90% back to normal...although I felt much better almost immediately after starting meds and haven't seen much improvement since. I have between 1 and 3 loose movements first thing in the morning then I'm good for the day. No blood and little to no cramping. Other symptoms are a very mild ache in my lower left abdomen (like someone is just following me around and poking me lightly with their finger) and occasional rectal discomfort that comes and goes. Nothing earth shattering or overly annoying.

I was wondering what other people think about vigorous exercise during mild flares. I like to play ice hockey and exercise regularly as it tends to keep my spirits up. I played in a hockey tournament over the weekend (3 games in 2 days) and noticed my symptoms got slightly worse. Is this just due to being over tired? What are other's experiences with exercise in general?

Depends on your age and fitness level. I say go for it, make sure u sleep and eat well.

I've exercised in more sever flares than what you're describing (not sure what age has to do with it as DMC mentioned above) but exercise is essential at all ages and promotes good bowel health...I say go for it!! It is a great energy booster and really helps with the mind and emotions in dealing with chronic illness. Just make sure you don't over do it, easing into it is best to avoid injury.

Pb4 you answered your own question, dont over do it, etc!

Don't over do it if you're just starting out, but regardless of age you can go hard at it if you're fit enough, DMC.

I'll be 48 this year, I do vigorous cardio and weights and can easily beat hubby with sit-ups and crunches (I can do 100 sit-ups with barely any struggle at the end, and he can do 10 struggling all the way through) he's a year younger than me and plays hockey on occasion, he still has a lot of muscle tone, especially his legs, but he's weak when it comes to certain things.

Just be careful and rest when you feel your body getting run down. You're competitive and that can really really dangerous for autoimmune diseases.

Especially a tournament were you tend to push yourself much harder because you not only have pride wanting to do your best but you don't want to let team mates down.

I found that in playing sports I was always much more drained when playing in front of a crowd; the larger the crowd the more I pushed plus the more I trained to not do well in front of them. Tournaments are all out. In any games with refs (hockey, basketball, football, baseball) you push much harder than if playing with friends for fun. Also, friends can pressure you to play because they like you; need you for a full team.

It might be that the hockey is okay (sit-ups, weightlifting, running, etc.) but when I had problems it was training for a triathlon plus playing competitive basketball plus building a house plus loss of sleep from a newborn, add stress at work and a sinus infection and you're toast. Normal folks don't get the immune system going out of control thing like us. They get tired, sleep, eat and hydrate more and they're good.

You noticed the hockey set you back some so just make sure you recover. The tournament was likely fine but as soon as you notice the symptoms then don't go painting the house in the hot sun plus heavy lifting helping a friend move plus the normal work everyone does like chores.

You're smart to notice you got sick after pushing yourself in the tournament. So many people will point to foods they ate and over look the weekend water sports, the tree the fell and cut and stacked plus seasonal allergies and stuff.

Once I told the wife I was resting and she said, 'must have been that trail run you did 3 days before'. No, maybe the trail run plus repairing the roof, gutter and fasciae in the hottest part of the day.

I wouldn't quit hockey; just back off other stuff, hydrate and get enough rest. You've got to fit in fun.

DMC2011 said...
I will be 55 in May and I wish I was in your shape PB4!

I should try harder, but i just exhausted most of the time. I work full time and walk at work about a mile, then about 8 miles on the weekend.

I want to start yoga!

I'm only able to exercise because I don't work, you should be proud of yourself for being able to walk as much as you do. Getting old sucks, getting old with a chronic illness sucks even more lol!

Yoga is excellent, I stared incorporating it in to my workouts and I love it, I just need to find a good way to watch a video of it while working out so I'm doing all the poses correctly...it's crazy how many forms of yoga are out there...since I'm cold all the time I'd love to try hot yoga hahaha.

Thanks everyone,

This diagnosis has been a real downer and I find that doctors will always tell you to "take it easy" because that's the safe answer. In the past I've always found that getting out and doing what I enjoy always makes me feel better no matter what ailment I was suffering from. If I have to sit around the house all day worrying about my disease I will go crazy.

This is my opinion only -- no strenuous exercise while flaring, but stick to mild-moderate until you are in remission. My reasoning for that (which is only based on my own thoughts) is that even if you are in great shape it takes the body some time to recover from a hard workout (though you may not even be aware of it). While flaring, the body is already working hard to heal, so why stress it more with vigorous exercise? No idea if those thoughts have any basis in fact, but it seems logical to me.

That's very true iPoop, when I was going 20-30 X a day the only exercise I got was running to the can and that was more than enough for me.