Brock Lesnar is a man among men when it comes to UFC fighting. He has pretty much done everything you can do in wrestling and even tried out for football. The one thing that can kick his rear? Diverticulitis.
Yep, try saying it four times fast. The man among men is humbled by a gastrointestinal problem.
You might not have heard of diverticulitis before, but I can assure you it is more common that you think. Many people who have it never suffer sever symptoms. They are lucky. Unlike Brock, they can continue to train and play.
What is diverticulitis? It is an inflammation of diverticulosis. Um, yeah. Basically, your colon develops pockets or pouches. When these become infected you have diverticulitis. Think of it as an angry colon due to pockets of puss hanging on. It is primarily caused by a diet low in fiber, but this is still under investigation. A few years ago I had kidney stones, but before the diagnosis they thought I had diverticulitis since I ate a large amount of almonds. Eating nuts was discredited as a cause of diverticulitis.
How do you treat diverticulitis? Your doctor is going to make the final call if you have it or not. Since it is adbdominal pain, there is no way you can diagnose it yourself. Once it is diagnosed you’ll need to go on bowel rest to give your colon a chance to catch up and rest. Bowel rest means no eating, pretty much. You’ll also get an antibiotic. If the diverticulitis is too sever, surgery might be called for. This is what has happened to Brock in the past.
Can you play sports with diverticulitis? Yes, if you do not require surgery. You’re going to have discomfort and it might impact your endurance.
How long does it take to recover from diverticulitis? Without surgery you’re looking at a couple of weeks. The biggest impact is the ongoing abdominal pain and restricted diet.
Here is a great walkthrough of the disease: