Exercises for Core Strengthening Post-Ostomy Surgery

Does anyone have any recommendations on exercises to help strengthen the abdominal muscles/core following an ostomy? I'm six weeks post-surgery but would like to begin gaining back some strength.

Just Google... low impact abdominal exercises and pick three or so to vary your workout. The main thing is you don't want to put all the stress on your stomach muscles like traditional sit-up type exercises do.

Hi Joe,

Six weeks isn't a very long time. Most of your stitches are internal and take a longer time to heal than the external ones you see. I know you want to get back to it, but ask anyone who's had a hernia because they rushed things and they'll tell you not to do what they did and wait. If it were me, I'd give it 6 months, just because I don't like making mistakes... especially the kind that, when you look back on, seem a bit stupid and easily avoided if my head was on straight. The best thing you can do is ask the surgeon who performed the surgery. The advice they'll give you is because they don't want to see you back on the operating table having to fix their previous work gone bad. You'll read on here how some people got right back to it without any problems and others that waited a long time before getting into abdominal exercises. The problem is you don't know where you lie in between those folks... so the risk is all yours. Your surgeon will know best.

;O)

Yeah, that is a tough lesson to learn. I ended up with 3 hernias after my first abdominal surgery. They fixed them with my last surgery, but it was a panproctocolectomy, so healing takes longer. I'd at least wait until about 3 months and ease into it.

Hi Joedoch, the best way to start is to take a deep breath as you push your belly muscles out and then exhale deeply as you pull them in as much as you can. This actually targets the abdominal muscles that matter. Don't do it fully yet; start easy. It seems so simple, but it's really effective. You train those muscles now and then apply this technique to whatever you choose to do as you heal. I practice yoga, and I do this for all of the poses. You'll be able to pull your abs in much more as you go along.

Getting Support in the Ostomy Community with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Some surgery centers have a meeting with a physical therapist. Try this reference:

https://www.coloplastcare.com/en-CA/ostomy/lifestyle/sports-and-exercise/l2.7-4-great-abdominal-exercises/

ConvaTec offers (free of charge) a very good recovery program for ostomates. Please see the link -

https://www.convatec.ca/ostomy/meplus-services-and-care/meplus-recovery-series/

This is Sarah Russell's website - she is a clinical Pilates teacher who has an ostomy. She's the one who made the Convatec Recovery Series. On her own website, she has classes that start from immediately post-surgery to more advanced core exercises. It's a really good site and the safest information I have found about how to rebuild core strength without doing damage.

https://www.theostomystudio.co.uk

I've been doing leg raises (now weighted), sit-ups, cable crunches, etc. Granted, I was lifting for 20 years before getting my ileostomy, but I suspect that as long as you're taking it easy and only gradually increasing resistance as your body adapts, then it's probably fine - possibly even protective.

Unfortunately, guidance in this area seems to be lacking - I've certainly not found anything from any reliable source.

On the hernia belts topic, I suspect they don't do anything. That certainly seems to be the case in respect of lifting belts, the function of which is to increase intra-abdominal pressure to assist in heavier lifts rather than providing any hernia protection. Therefore, the idea that a hernia belt would do this seems unconvincing.

Hi g,

You said, "Unfortunately, guidance in this area seems to be lacking - I've certainly not found anything from any reliable source."

There are a few reasons for this. The top two are that there are different types of abdominal surgery, from laparoscopic to full-blown wide open, and the fact that people heal at different rates depending on overall health and genetics. So, no one answer can cover all the possibilities. There's tons of info out there on how and when to return to "exercising" after abdominal surgery. If we're talking about actual weight lifting for strength and fitness, the rule of thumb is the 10-10 rule. And that means not lifting any more than 10 lbs for 10 months. That probably assumes full-blown open abdominal surgery and a median healing ability.

;O)

There's a good video on core exercises for ostomates from Collin Jarvis at Stealth Belt. You can find it online.

I honestly didn't know that. Kinda sucks, but I get that. Can't remember where I read it, but it went like, "It takes up to 2 years before your abdominal muscles are back to the way they were pre-surgery."