Can people with gallstone exercise?

Exercise is indeed healthy to keep your body in shape. However, in people with certain conditions there are many things that need to be considered before doing exercise, including gallstones. In fact, is an exercise routine a good recommendation for people with gallstones? If so, what should be considered? Check out the following reviews.

Exercise is good for preventing gallstone disease

Reporting from Everyday Health, a study published in the Journal of Physical Activity and Health in 2016 shows the potential for regular exercise to prevent a person's risk of developing gallstones. This potential is most apparent in exercise, which can have a large effect on body weight.

The gallbladder is an organ that is located between the liver and duodenum. Its function is to store bile produced by the liver. Later, this liquid will be released into the intestines when you eat to help digest the food. Bile contains salts that can break down fat.

Conversely, if you rarely exercise, are overweight, and like to eat fatty foods, various bile problems can occur. For example, hypomotility of the gallbladder (the movement of the gallbladder becomes inactive), stastic bile (bile cannot flow normally), or the formation of cholesterol stones in bile (gallstones).

Can people with gallstones exercise?

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that cycling, exercise, jogging , swimming, tennis, and walking and brisk walking are the best forms of physical exercise to reduce the risk of problems with the gallbladder. The results are very good if exercise is done regularly with moderate intensity or according to the body's ability.

Stones in bile are formed from accumulated cholesterol which crystallizes. Some people have one or two stones, but they usually don't cause symptoms (asymptomatic gallstones). Meanwhile, if the stone has caused blockage, the symptoms that will appear include:

Pain in the upper right abdomen
Right shoulder pain
Nausea or vomiting

Then, is it safe to exercise for people who have gallstones? Reporting from Live Strong, people with asymptomatic gallstones can carry out regular exercise routines to lose weight so that their condition gets better.

However, people who experience chronic symptoms should not exercise until symptoms have disappeared. Exercise will make the pain worse, so you need to get plenty of rest. If the symptoms do not go away within 5 hours, you should contact your doctor immediately.

If you want to exercise, treat gallstones in the right way

Treating gallstones can be done in various ways. In some cases, this condition can be treated with drugs, such as ursodiol or chenodiol. This drug has been shown to dissolve and thin petrified cholesterol. However, this treatment is only potentially good in people who have small cholesterol stones.

In addition, cholesterol rocks can also be resolved by extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ECSWL). Namely, it sends shock waves through the soft tissues in the body. This treatment is usually successful for treating cholesterol stones in children.

Cholesterol stones can also be destroyed by injecting solvents into the body. This method is called methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE). However, this treatment has serious side effects, such as burning pain.

If these treatments do not work, the doctor will likely recommend the patient to undergo surgery. This method is called cholecystectomy, which removes cholesterol stones from the bile so that the stones do not form again and the bile can flow into the intestine again.