Exercise

[MrsMc77]

Can anyone offer any advice with the best exercise to do please? I struggle with tiredness and my pains are in my legs but I'm probably at my heaviest at the minute and feel a good exercise routine will help shift some weight and improve my symptoms

[Painny]

Sport/exercise have always been a big part of my life. Currently I have no motivation to do anything.

I’d say gentle Yoga for beginners is a good start. YouTube has lots of exercises on offer for fibromyalgia suffers.

Hope this helps

[Carlt]

I walk as much as I am able to, depending on how I feel.

Sometimes this is a 5 mile walk round my local reservoir and other days it is a struggle to get across the room.

When I'm feeling really well I cycle but this became impossible as I lost the stamina to get up hills at any time but I have switched to a pedal assisted electric bike which takes the load off hills and, when I've overdone it, I can switch to 100% powered mode to get me home with barely any effort at all.

Fully powered electric bikes are illegal, by the way, but this is a ridiculous law which I believe discriminates against the disabled, depriving them of a healthy and eco-friendly mode of transport.

[Marlie-]

I am exactly the sameI work 14 hour shifts and in my head crying in pain. When it comes to exercise I struggle. I know they said swimming but that killed me x

[Cat00]

Swimming is a good exercise to ease you in. It's a calorie burn without putting too much strain on your joints. As time goes by you would be able to swim faster to build up your cardio strength.

[MrsMc77]

Thank you everyone that's really helpful. All I did yesterday was play foot golf with my children, I've had a bad night with pain and struggling this morning. I think swimming may be a good start if I can try and be consistent

[aytias]

After years of trying to find an exercise that only benefits but does't hurt, I think the top most priority should be to strengthen the abs. This advice comes from a physiotherapist. Fibro hits on all the muscles that support the body like psoas, quadratus lumborum, upper and lower traps, etc. That means the rest of the body is trying to compensate for this weakness and you end up very quickly with pain/discomfort in the joints or the spine.

Try to start with an exercise that targets the abs but also requires minimum effort by the rest of the body and build up from that. That way, your abs will always absorb most of the impact when you do other exercises and the rest of the muscles will start building resistance slowly (which is top priority in fibro!).

There are many ab exercises out there. Try to find one that doesn't force you to bend the spine or slouch. Build up slowly. Repetition is the key.

Good luck

[25rosclare]

Try Joe Wickes videos on YouTube . They range from chair bound and upwards. I use them and found them excellent. Good luck, if you can do any exercise and start to push through the pain barrier it does help you.

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Hello, yes I loved too do many things but things have changed somewhat for me, I do small walks, I really want too try and do a little swimming soon, on my hit list , sometimes I do a few stretches to music ,hard too strike a fine balance I know, one day I can rule the world then next painful and fatigue 🙁but I have a combo of cfs /fibro , I hear some do yoga xx

[Camille1]

Swimming is what I've been able to do to get me back into exercise. I've dropped a dress size. I started off doing 10 lengths, now doing over 70. Now my cardio is better, I'm doing spinning and dance classes at the gym. I'm also back weight training, but "every day is leg day" as I'm soon going to have carpal tunnel release surgery 😀

[Diolch1]

My doctor referred my to the NERS( national exercise referral scheme) at my local leisure centre. It’s made such a difference to my well being as well as more mobility and weight loss. See if your doctor can do this for you.

[MrsMc77 in reply to Diolch1]

Thank you, I've had a look and cant seem to find anything local to me but will speak to a Dr to find out, thanks

[JayCeon]

Hi there, it doesn't matter what I do, it's more important that I keep under my limits, so short stints, but very regularly. If necessary I can switch between various things for many hours a day, if I include stretches, breathing and relaxation. Hardest for me personally was tai chi or normal physiotherapy, but even that I can do for 2 or 5 minutes. If it's about local pains I look up the type of pain with "exercises", "stretches" or "acupressure"etc. on youtube and am always successful to get it own.

[JayCeon in reply to JayCeon]

Forgot to add: A 'stint' can mean 10-30 seconds of a single exercise and then a rest till I'm sure I'm staying under my limit. Where that is is a matter of practice, but if I'm not sure or easily overdo it generally or a certain type of exercise in particular, the motto is "start low, go slow".