Exercise

[egm123]

I would love to do some exercise as I feel so positive mentally and physically but all exercise seems so painful!!

I have tried walking, yoga, Pilates, tai chi but all are so painful.

I also have hyper mobility which makes it harder as I have to be aware not to over work my body!

[LoneEra]

Now that pools are open again, swimming is a gentle option. I find it really beneficial for reducing my pain, actually. I also have hypermobility 🙂

[egm123 in reply to LoneEra]

Great thank you I’ll give that a go

[Alb2]

There is something called Restorative Yoga which is gentle and suited to hyper-mobility issues. I have hyper-mobility and know how important it is to keep stretching and find Yoga is the only exercise that does this for me. Probably best to find a teacher though to ensure you’re doing it correctly as often it’s not doing it correctly is what causes pain. There are many good gentle workouts on you tube🙂

[egm123 in reply to Alb2]

That’s wonderful thank you

[Cat00]

I have to do cardio, it's the only thing that stops the tightness. I have to do it regularly or I seize up. I did a class at the gym on Tuesday so I can hardly walk now but I know if I just keep going I'll start to get better.

[egm123 in reply to Cat00]

What type of cardio do you do? And how do you fight through the pain after?

[Cat00 in reply to egm123]

Well I found if I didn't do intense cardio I don't get all my muscles worn out all over that I don't get enough benefit. In the pain clinic they agreed with my approach and said you really need to get your heart rate high for at least 20 minutes a day. I do at least an hour a day, I do HIT classes and combat classes. I swim and I do weights.

I get bad DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) which is probably bc of the fibro, no one else seem to get DOMS after every class like I do so I presume that's fibro. I find I can cope will the pain bc I know where it comes from whereas fibro pain keeps you guessing all the time. I have to do a class everyday though maybe every so often I'll miss one day, but not doing everyday makes the pain much worse. I'm very stiff in the morning especially my legs but I just creak my way to the gym and an hour later I'm all smoothed out and feel good. The worst part is the mornings so I try to find classes not too late in the day.

[Ijo1]

Morning All. Swimming is the only thing that works for me nowadays. I feel like a human again when I'm in the pool, the warm water and gentle exercise really helps with the pain. Don't over do it but you will be amazed how you feel and how much further you can swim after a month of 2 to 3 visits each week. I'm so glad my pool reopened on Monday. Some pools do a deal on paying for entry as well and if you have a beats scheme in your area you can get greatly reduced prices..

[LoneEra in reply to Ijo1]

What is a beats scheme, please? Never heard of this! Totally agree on swimming, though. I’ve been so sore during lockdown. Even a couple of days in the pool and I’m noticing a difference. My leisure centre offers a swimming only membership so I pay £20 a month for unlimited swimming.

[Ijo1 in reply to LoneEra]

Hi. I went to my doctors following spinal surgery as I was worried about weight gain and wanted to exercise. He referred me to a scheme called beats which is run by the council. A meeting was arranged with an assessor and basically I was prescribed swimming as an excercise at a reduced rate, £1 per session. They help with healthy eating, weight loss and stopping smoking to name a few things if required. Ask your GP but it may be called something else in your area.

[LoneEra in reply to Ijo1]

Thanks - that’s very interesting. My neck of the woods is not always proactive in this area, but I will ask.

[egm123 in reply to Ijo1]

Wow that’s really great! thank you for the advice

[aytias]

Hi,

I personally found out the hard way that yoga isn't for me although I'm quite hypermobile. Most yoga poses require you to fold your back forwards which stresses a lot of low back muscles. In my case, it gives me a flare on the QL (quadratus lumborum) which ruins my whole workout. Swimming is probably the safest exercise although not always available. Swimming in the sea is even better due to the extra buoyancy but that's even harder to get access to!

[egm123 in reply to aytias]

Yes I find similar with yoga! That is great! Thank you for the advice

[JayCeon]

I can do all of these... O.o - but some only for a few seconds... ;-D. Pacing, finding the invisibly moving sweet spots for everything is the key, I find.

I have problems with long slow movements or still positions - walking, stretching (esp. yin yoga) or qi gong, so I keep them short. Sports-wise ”7'-workouts", cycling & table tennis work best for me, machines too, swimming under 20 mins. is quite good too.

Stretching does help me tho, esp. twist-stretching, but only in stints of about 20 seconds. Longer rips me apart, gives me cramps & nausea.