Is Doing Exercise a Safe Practice for Ostomates?

Ostomy surgery changes a patient’s life dramatically. A person has to go through a sudden change. The new lifestyle changes everything. The surgery affects the physical health, natural process of a human body, mental health, physical activities, social activities, sexual life, and professional life. For the new ostomates, the operation brings negative impacts on the mind and body. Generally, the ostomy impairs a patient’s overall life and psychological health. 

Therefore, a person has to face so many daily life challenges. It gives a drastic change regarding every single thing of life like diet routine, professional life, traveling, sports, shopping, social gathering, and any other physical activity. However, despite every challenge, a patient can perform activities that involve physical exertion and efforts. However, a person can get back to the previous lifestyle after the approval of his doctor or nurse. Once the stoma gets settled and a patient gets used to the new lifestyle, then he/she can do anything he wants or was doing before the surgery.

When it comes to exercise, an ostomate has to be careful. However, after a few months, a person can get back to the previous lifestyle and do exercise too. Well, the following are the exercise an ostomate can do after the approval of the healthcare and under the guidance of the specialist.

Lifting

Lifting or weight bearing is one of the toughest exercises. With the age, muscles, and bones of a person get weaken; therefore, this exercise depends on the age factor. If an ostomate is a young person, he can lift the weight after the training. However, for overage, it is not a safe job to perform.

Well, according to the doctors, an ostomate should not lift the weight for a few weeks of the surgery. A patient can get back to the weight lifting after twelve or fifteen weeks of the operation.

Core Muscles Exercise

Core muscles exercise is useful for the strength of muscles. It gives ease in performing daily physical activities. However, an ostomate can perform this after the 10 weeks of the surgery. It will help in improving the posture of the backbone. It gives relief from the backache. Moreover, this exercise involves abs, back, and pelvis jobs. The most common exercise for the core muscles is six abs.

You may perform core muscle exercises at home. However, for ostomates, it will be better if they seek professional help. Especially, for a few weeks, they should do this under the eyes of specialists, but after some time they can do this at home.

Abdominal Crunches

After the ostomy surgery, the muscles of the abdomen get weaken because of the constant inactivity. Therefore, this exercise will help them to get back in action. However, this can cause pain or other complications if the stoma of a patient is not healthy or new. Moreover, for hernia patients, it is a risky exercise. Therefore, before thinking of the crunches, you should consult your health care. However, do not pressurize your body with the 100 or above crunches. Do small sets of the exercise under the proper guidance. This will exhaust the body; however, commence the crunches after the four or five months of the surgery.

Walking and Jogging

The walk is one of the easy and safest exercises a patient can perform. Therefore, an ostomate can walk after a few days of the surgery. But, jogging is not safe in the initial days. Therefore, avoid running and fast exercise right after the surgery. Well, an ostomate should walk as much as he can. It will improve the cardio, activate the muscles, helps digestion, and enhance the overall body condition.

Sports and Swimming

It is a myth that an ostomate cannot play or swim anymore. Well, a patient should do rest and take care of the stoma in the initial months. But after four to five months, you can get back to every activity whether it is swimming or any other sport.