exercise

[handsy1]

can anyone that as done exercise with fibromyalgia tell me if they have found it as helped them or not ,

[Peachypink1]

Hi

Ive tried swimming, 3 months, didn't really help. Also bought a jaccuzzi...still searching

[Hazel_Angelstar Administrator FMA UK Staff]

Keeping active definitely helps me manage my pain and other symptoms.

I actually noticed that my pain levels have been higher during lockdown because I have not been as active (I'm only talking about walking when out at shops etc, keeping active around the house and using an exercise bike for short periods of time ... Not huge amounts of exercise/activity)

[Chrisbel]

yes, have been exercising doing 30 mins pilates based stretching and 15 mins fast walking and 15 mins cross training, at the gym every two days, until the virus, now I stretch and walk, for me it was a question of varying the intensity of the exercise according to the pain and stiffness in my body, if I don’t stretch and exercise, the pain is worse, but I also take many supplements and herbs, have acupuncture, physio, breath oxygen under pressure, eat differently, all regularly and I have found that the multidisciplinary approach works for me. the only pain killers I take are paracetamol, usually at night, when I need them. since lockdown I have not had access to the gym, physio, oxygen, acupuncture, and the pain and stiffness are definitely worse.

[handsy1 in reply to Chrisbel]

on a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the worst how much has exercise, do you think as helped with pain and how server is your fib mild or sever, not judging you just trying to learn from people that have go fib to see if there is any connections thanks colin

[Chrisbel]

it’s not as simple as to say exercise helps with the pain as sometimes it’s very painful to do the stretches and aerobics, however as part of the regime I find it’s really important to exercise regularly, otherwise the pain and stiffness gets worse and movement becomes more difficult and painful. also I have found that over 10 years, the exercising has generally become easier. as to whether my fibro is severe or not, is difficult to say objectively. when my spine is fixed and I have stuck to my diet, (no inflammatory foods) mainly plant based, and I’m taking the right supplements etc, it does not feel that severe,(except at night when lack of movement makes it worse) but if I don’t do things correctly, it can get very nasty, tired, painful, headaches, thick headed, total lack of drive. nights vary from waking every hour in pain to getting 4 hours without waking depending on so many factors but if I get them all right I get a reasonable sleep only broken up two or three times. the problem with fibro seems to me to be that, to live a reasonable life, there is never going to be one answer, you have to attack it from many angles. read a lot of articles, try a lot of different ways to deal with it, until you find ways that suit you. I have spent considerable time reading and trying different things and have found herbs and supplements and ways that work for me, but everyone is different I guess. hope this is useful. cheers

[handsy1]

thanks i appreciate your response thats exactly the answer i was looking for exercise doesn't really improve your pain that much but stops other problems accruing that can make things worse like stiffness ect

[judyb67]

I do conditioning and strengthening training with a personal coach it has helped me in understanding believable ways from walking to being able to do daily chores. I'm not saying it doesn't hurt but the benefit out ways that tenfold. Look up "the fibro guy" from Newcastle England my trainer contacted him and now I can squat 80kg and deadline 100kg not to mention do sit ups, press ups and walk for short distances without pain!!!!

[Dragonfly43]

One thing I have worked out is everyone is totally different and what works for someone may not work for someone else. Give it a go, only you can find out if it helps or not ❤

[Alb2]

I do yoga and can say it makes a huge difference to my pain levels and mobility. My consultant previously told me to keep doing what I was doing, especially stretching, as keeping mobile is so important- it helps keep the joints lubricated! His words to me were ‘if you don’t use it you’ll loose it’. If it is done correctly, it really helps😊

[Kitten-whiskers]

It's about getting the balance right, If I do too much then a flare up will happen, but if I get it right it helps greatly. The trick is to take it slowly and pay attention to what your body is communicating, When my body starts seizing up and im feeling drained then its time to cut back or stop.

Best wishes

Debs

[Paddysdad]

Staying active is essential but excercise needs working at to find what works for you. And, gradual build up . Swimming is great but, the downside is many public pools are cold Which is counterproductive. If you can find a nice temperature pool, that would be great.

[fabpup01]

I walk our little dog every day for between 45 & 60 minutes. It can be hard to get going at first but I do think it's beneficial. When not in lock down I also do yoga, some of the poses are a little difficult sometimes but I'm sure it helps to keep things more supple

[SpotX]

Yes. I try to walk 10000 steps a day and I do gentle Pilates a few times a week. The stretching really helps my mobility. When I’m in a flare I sometimes need to remind myself of the benefits as I believe if I don’t keep exercising I would spiral downhill. The less you do the stiffer you get then the more pain you are in. When I’m in a flare I don’t always get my steps in and I have to do a few shorter walks and sometimes I can’t do all the stretches but I do what I can. I can always move better afterwards. It’s trial and error and learning about what your body can and can’t do and what helps you. I’d love to get back to jogging again but every time I try to do the couch 2 5K I end up with a lot of pain and stiffness the following day (s) so I’ve had to accept that is too much for me.

[oldwomaninpain]

My little pool in Spain has reached 30°C now so I do gentle solo aquarobics with my noodle for about 45 minutes Along with sauntering with my elderly arthritic pooch for about 45 minutes twice a day constitutes my daily 'exercise'. Do I feel better for it? No, not really, but I dread to think how much worse I might feel if I didn't.

I have a 50 metre round trip to go to the loo from my sofa (long thin house) so my weak bladder keeps me 'active' too, LOL.

I still cannot sweep, mop, hoover, or even stand at the sink for more than 10 minutes without being in agony. I dread housework days

My view, do what you can when you can, if doing a little bit more hurts then stop and try again another day

Take care

Ann xx

[Bakery40]

Exercise definitely helps. I do fibro exercise - stretching muscles in your whole body (you find it on you tube by Dr Jo) , make sure you do warming up exercise first and then exercise. All together roughly 30 minutes every evening. You can do it at any time of the day.

I have been do it since last September and since my fibro flare ups are less frequent and they don't last so long. Even when I have a flare up ,I do some exercise. Maybe instead of 10 I just do 5. Any exercise is more than none.

Give it a go 😃.

[Fifelassieo]

Yes l believe exercise is good for you, gives me more energy, and this helps with managing pain

[khaleeseebrown1]

yes i do aqua twice or 3 times a week and tai chi classes . I have found a huge difference to my mental health as well as physical . It was hard to start off with i only did as much as i could there was no pressure to do more than that . things have gone downhill since lockdown plus i caught the virus its week 8 post covid and i am still breathless and very weak and tired more than usual . Its good for your mental health to do exercise with other people meeting new friends who are usually in same situation as yourself so understand what your going through with chronic pain its easy to do gentle movements in water dressing after is the hardest but the ladies do help if i get stuck . good luck

[handsy1]

thanks to all for responding interesting comments, if you can help iam interested in how long you have been exercising and from a scale of 1 to.10 ten being the worst what number were you on and what number are you with exercise

[Purplebluebell]

Hi, yes I exercise regularly and sometimes the pain is way worse but I have so many benefits from keeping my regime going that it is worth the odd flare up. I do pilates/cycling/nordic walking all of which I do gently if in pain.

[Ehfibro]

Hi, I have fibro, cronic fatigue and OA in my knees/hips and neck.I was exercising in the pool for 1 hour sessions, sometimes 4 times a week doing 6 different leg strenthening exercises as well as swimming. I found it helped me quite a lot, as soon as you entered the warm pool you could feel the pain get less and less. Unfortunately due to the cronic fatigue I would be shattered for the rest of the day, but my mental state would be much better. Since lockdown my pain has been at its worse and trying to sleep at night is a joke. I can't wait till I am allowed to go in the pool again. I am unable to do any walking as exercise or cycling ect.

Best wishes to all

[ClassyLady3 in reply to Ehfibro]

I, too, felt better in the pool and since lockdown, my pain is much worse

[Cat00]

Before lockdown I did 2 HIT classes a week, 2 combat classes a week and 2 conditioning classes a week with 3 hours of kung fu in the evening. I enjoyed them so much and after I'd do them I'd get a massive endorfin hit and my body would free more connected. The mornings were brutal however all my muscles would be on fire and I'd struggle to sit down or stand up and have to drag myself about. I also had to deal with the fact when I got to the gym no one else was in any pain from the class we'd done together the day before.

It still made me feel mentally better and being stronger made me feel safer. I have chronic migraines as well and vigorous exercise in the morning could delay or get rid of some migraines.

I scuba dive and being stronger made me more able to stand on the boat with a tank on my back and more able to put my wetsuit on.

Don't get wrong I'd be exhausted by 6 o' clock which made getting the kids to bed so hard. In lockdown I hardly so anything. I go for a 2 mile run which I hate every minute of and do weight just so I don't loose all my strength.

[Hidden]

Hi, I practice Yoga and Pilates and try to do one everyday. Some days I just do some restorative yoga, other days I can manage a 30 minute session. I had to build up my daily exercise gradually as the first time I did a session I could hardly walk the next day. For me it has definitely helped and it was worth preserving through the pain and stiffness of the next day. I also have a cross trainer and can manage that on really good days. I find low impact exercises are the best for me as I have osteoarthritis in the knees and big toe also. I hope that helps and you have to find what works for you it’s trial and error - good luck xx

[aytias]

Hi, I don't really know how fibromyalgia affects other people's body but for me the neck is my weakest point. I've been focusing on exercises that strengthen the psoas and stay away from the neck, so mostly pilates or variations of pilates. I always discuss them with my physiotherapist first.

Throughout the 3 years with fibromyalgia, I've had some breakthroughs that drastically improved the situation.

1. Before exercise, massage your body or at least the tightest spots. For me, it's the neck.

- I use a 4 way massage tool (the one from decathlon is the one that has lasted the longest and it has 4 different sized heads).

- Sometimes I use a tennis ball against a wall, mostly for the neck.

- I also have an electrical massage tool (Reviber Zen Physio Handheld Deep Tissue Massager).

2. Avoid wrong moves and stretches that make you worse a lot faster. This is probably a very controversial topic since people are very different. As a general rule I've been following the basic principles of the Gokhale method. In essence, avoid folding your back, focus on using your buttocks and hamstrings more than your low back, . That means I have to avoid half of the yoga exercises but I don't regret it since I can cleanup the floor and stand back straight without discomfort. Gokhale has a book you can buy called "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Natural Posture Solutions for Pain in the Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee, and Foot" (can also be bought as pdf), unless you want to invest on the seminars, which are quite expensive). Again, this is very personal.

3. When exercising, I target the psoas muscle first in order to rebuild the core balance and then do the rest of the exercises. The psoas muscle works as the ropes in a tent; the ropes shouldn't carry the load but transfer it to the tent -> big muscles. My goto exercise is the plank, with the arms pointing outwards and the palms facing up, in order to take the load away from the neck.

4. Use rubber bands with different colors for varying levels of effort. If using your arms, to avoid the tightness in your neck, wrap the ends of the band around your last 2 fingers. The other 3 fingers should be left unused since they engage the shoulder and neck muscles. Focus on repetition and proper posture rather than load.

Hope it helps!

[ClassyLady3]

Walking helps me