Post-Stoma Surgery: Dos and Don’ts of Exercise

Post-Stoma Surgery: Dos and Don’ts of Exercise

After stoma surgery, you should take a steady approach to rebuilding your fitness. This might feel frustrating, especially if you were very active before, but it is important to take time to recover from your operation. Make sure you’re ready to start exercising again by talking to your doctor.

DO Build Up your Exercise Slowly

Your stoma shouldn’t stop you from exercising, but you should take it easy at first. When you’re recovering from stoma surgery, you might be worried about managing your pouch or feel demotivated. Try to set small, realistic goals, rather than attempting intensive exercise straight away. Trying some small movements at home is a good way to begin. A few basic exercises to try are:

• Hip extensions
• Upper body extensions
• Pelvic tilt
• Bridging

DON’T Forget to Hydrate

When you have a stoma, particularly an ileostomy, you lose additional fluid as output. It’s important to stay hydrated, so you should try to drink enough water, especially when you plan to exercise. When you’re doing any strenuous activity, you will lose more fluid than usual through sweat. When you sweat, you also lose glucose and salts, which can be replaced by sports drinks. Everyone is different, so experiment with different brands of these drinks to find which ones work best for you.

Make sure you recognise the signs of dehydration. Headaches, dark coloured urine and fatigue can all be a symptom of dehydration.

DO Try Core Muscle Conditioning

When you have stoma surgery, the gap in your abdominal wall creates a weakness. Parastomal hernias are relatively common in stoma bag wearers, but it is thought that maintaining a healthy weight and a strong core reduces the likelihood of developing hernias. Although you should build your core strength, try to avoid any heavy lifting, especially when you are still recovering from surgery. There are lots of low-intensity exercises to try at home, such as yoga.

DON’T Lose Motivation

If you were very active before your stoma, you might feel like you’re having to start from scratch. Although you shouldn’t push yourself for a while, you should be able to return to your usual exercises when you have recovered from surgery.

If you weren’t very active before, you might feel reluctant to begin an exercise routine, but staying active has multiple health benefits. The feel-good endorphins that are released when you exercise are also good for your emotional wellbeing.

DO Try Swimming or Walking

Walking and swimming are good exercises to start with. You can carry out these exercises for as long as you choose, at an intensity that’s right for you. Importantly, they don’t put pressure on your stoma. Lots of people feel nervous about swimming with a stoma, but it shouldn’t stop you from enjoying the water. If your pouch has a filter, then using a filter cover will stop your bag filling with water. You may also consider using a stoma cap as a smaller, more discreet alternative to standard pouches.

DON’T Ignore your Body

Start with exercises that feel comfortable. If you want to move on to more intense exercise, establish this into your routine gradually. When you exercise, it is normal to breathe a little heavier or feel tired afterwards, but you shouldn’t become exhausted or struggle to breathe. If you feel like this, or you feel any pain, stop immediately. Take enough time to rest between exercises and don’t try to push yourself if you experience pain.

DO Wear Support if you Need to

Many stoma bag wearers feel more comfortable when their stoma is supported. Support belts and stoma underwear provide additional support by holding the pouch close to the skin. If you find your stoma irritating or uncomfortable, using extra support might help. Support underwear can also make your stoma appear more smooth beneath your clothing, which some people find gives them extra confidence.