How long is the best exercise per day for patients with colorectal cancer

Patients with colorectal cancer usually have undergone major surgery, during which they had to open their abdomen and sometimes have an artificial anus placed. The care of these so-called bowel holes will of course limit physical exercise to a certain extent. In principle, please note: do not lift heavy objects and give up high-intensity physical loads. After the surgical wound has healed internally, physical exercise will no longer be an obstacle, especially when no bowel holes have been placed. Now you can start slowly and continuously increase the load. So, how much exercise should a patient with colorectal cancer do in a day?

For patients with colorectal cancer, moderate endurance exercise, such as cycling, swimming, hiking and Nordic walking, is very suitable, preferably for 30 minutes. Tennis, golf and other ball sports are not recommended because these sports require strong body rotation and are not coordinated braking exercises.

On the cross arm machine, you can strengthen the cardiovascular system and the overall muscle tissue without loading the spine or joints. Another advantage of this machine is that you can train at home or in a fitness center, and you can go to the toilet at any time. This is also very important for outdoor sports, because many patients have symptoms of diarrhea or frequent bowel movements, so pay attention to the toilet nearby.

In addition, drinking plenty of water evenly distributed throughout the day is extremely important for all bowel cancer patients. As a supplement to endurance training, it is also necessary to carefully strengthen the abdominal musculature and combine this training with back exercises. Before starting to exercise, always go to a sports medicine physician, physical therapist or a qualified fitness center for a strength test to determine what and how much you can do. Based on this highly personalized test, a training plan suitable for the individual is developed. Then, you can start very slowly and carefully stretch the healing tissue. Avoid all sudden, pulling movements to ensure that the wound is not burdened. Slowly increase the level of training and weight, and control your breathing: exhale when you are tense and inhale when you relax.