Physical activities
Whether you play tennis, golf, enjoy jogging, swimming, skiing, or yoga, you can still stay active. With your healthcare professional’s permission, you can go back to the same sports and activities you engaged in before
your surgery.
Many healthcare professionals do not recommend people living with an ostomy participate in contact sports such as boxing, wrestling, or football because of possible injury to the stoma from a severe blow. People living with an ostomy include distance runners, weight lifters, skiers, and swimmers, and often participate in most other types of athletics.
One man who has taken this to heart is Rob Hill, who went from barely being able to make it up a flight of stairs, to running, biking, swimming, and climbing. His quest to become the first Crohn’s disease patient and ostomate to climb the Seven Summits (the highest peaks on the seven continents) got underway in 2002 when he conquered Mt. Elbrus in Russia. In recognition of his June 2005 ascent of Alaska’s Denali (Mt. McKinley), the tallest mountain in North America, Rob was presented with an honorary Great Comebacks™ Award by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. He has since successfully scaled Antarctica’s Vinson Massif, the fifth of his Seven Summits campaign.