How to Strengthen Your Abdominal Muscles After Surgery

People who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are often not strangers to abdominal surgery. People with Crohn's disease have a 75% chance of needing surgery to manage the disease. In ulcerative colitis patients, about 23% to 45% will require some type of surgery (usually a colectomy).

After any abdominal surgery, once you have been cleared by the surgeon to participate in regular activities, thoughts might turn to firm up abdominal muscles. Exercise promotes overall better health, and getting back into the swing of exercise after surgery is one way to lower the risk of future health problems.

Starting Post-Surgery Ab Workouts

A few tips to remember before getting started on a new workout routine:

• Get permission from your surgeon, gastroenterologist, and/or general practitioner before beginning a new exercise routine.
• Sip water (or sports drinks) before, during, and after a workout to keep from getting dehydrated (this is especially important for people with an ostomy or j-pouch).
• Start an exercise routine as part of an overall fitness plan that includes eating a well-balanced diet.
• Don't feel guilty for skipping a workout, but resolve to keep your next exercise time.
• Be aware of any physical restrictions. For example, contact sports are probably not a good idea soon after surgery.

Fitting Exercise Into Your Schedule

The first thing to consider is how to fit an exercise routine into a daily schedule. Most people need a day of rest in between each workout session, so three times a week is a good target to start. Scheduling workouts at the same time of day will help you develop a routine.

Safely Targeting Abdominal Muscles

Reverse and regular crunches can be used to target abdominal muscles. To prevent straining back muscles, remember to keep the back flat against the floor. It's not necessary to have any special exercise equipment to do crunches. However, an exercise ball will help target the abdominal muscles.

Contrary to what many people think, doing large amounts of crunches all at once won't necessarily help you.

Overall Fitness Routine for IBD

Along with tightening up the ab muscles, it is a good idea to put some cardio exercise and weight training into a workout routine. Walking, running, swimming, and bicycling will help create an overall fitness routine and all of these could be good activities for people who have IBD.

Weight training can help strengthen muscles that are weak after inactivity or after the use of steroids (which can cause unintentional weight gain). Ab exercises help firm up the muscles of the torso but doesn't do much for reducing the body fat that is covering up the abs.

Keeping Workouts Fresh

To keep from stagnating or getting bored, aim for variety in your routine and incorporate many different kinds of exercises to maximize the body's response. Workout videos focusing on ab muscles, yoga, or Pilates may also help.

Enlist the help of those around you to keep up with a new fitness routine. Find an exercise buddy, head to a gym for a workout with a trainer, or ask a doctor to recommend an exercise program. With some determination and sweat, you can be on your way to looking and feeling great despite the abdominal surgery.

A Word From Verywell

The key to firming and strengthening is making exercise a habit. Many people will notice that their strength increases quickly after starting a comprehensive fitness program. Weight loss and other noticeable effects will take more time—anywhere from 6 to 18 weeks.