I'm hitting the 2nd year mark since the onset of PMR. I'm tapering down to 5mg prednisone. I walk several times a week on flat surface and keep quite active with watching grandchildren and now that spring is here I'm gardening.
I'm going on 72 .I feel less pain and stiffness except that the weakness I feel is worse than ever. Its hard to walk stairs or walk up hills, Lifting up things is hard. Prior to PMR ,I worked in a garden center for 8 years and was accustomed to lifting heavy pots. Can I begin to lift small hand weights? Also when I do walk a lot I begin to feel a tingling in my left foot.
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Paperroses
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Doesn't help now but you could probably have continued to use very light weights all along - what you can't do at any stage is dive back into "normal activty" without building up very slowly. I usually suggest getting a couple of 500ml water bottles and start with a small amount of water in each - if that's OK you can add more water. Don't do too many reps at first - if you do enough to cause your biceps to ache it will take time to recover and if you do anything while sore it won't recover and you won't improve anything,
I agree with PMRpro that you should introduce exercises gradually. A good physiotherapist who understands PMR, if you can find one, will begin with what you can do now and help you to progress by giving you graded exercises which you will perform in front of her/him and then practise at home. If you are willing to pay for for a few sessions I would advise this.
Interesting! I can most certainly identify with your loss of muscle strength etc. After I'd had PMR for about twelve months (diagnosed Dec2014), my wife, who is an ex PE teacher said she wrote me off for any lifting; eg shopping bags, and general gardening work. I couldn't believe how she was lifting all these items, including plant containers, when I couldn't!For the past year, I have been using two and a half kg weights to try to build up arms again - very very slowly and gradually at first, so that now things are getting much better. Legs still not as good as before, but I do walk our dog daily for around a half hour.
The old adage "if you don't use it, you lose it" is very relevant to me, but I found I have to take things very easy; if I overdo it, which I have done on many an occasion, the PMR will certainly tell you!
Paperroses! What’s your hurry? And why the desperate desire to commence weight training? Your musculosketal system is telling you what you can and can’t do. Please listen to it. Enjoy walking and a wee bit of gardening - and be patient. Please.
Actually, the ideal is not to lose it in the first place by a gentle approach to maintain muscle bulk and tone. No-one is suggesting the gym and big weights!
I think all of us older ones feel this, pmr makes it so much worse. We naturally lose muscle with increasing age, so need to make a concerted effort to stay strong. I find that younger, fit people haven’t a clue what it feels like to be older with diminishing strength, especially the trainers in the gyms.I would agree with pmrpro, begin with light weights in each hand, I’d begin with a small can of veg or very light dumbbells. You can do arm excercise sitting upright in a chair but only 5-10 reps, see how you feel. For thighs, try sitting to standing (not from a low chair) also heel raises for calves, holding on to something for balance. My physio post hip replacement had me practising standing on one leg, which I thought was a bit of a joke but actually it did improve my balance a lot. Sorry if you already know all this! Good luck with getting stronger, don’t forget you’re in adrenals waking up territory like me, where fatigue can kick in too.
Thanks for your reply. I think that in the circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is quite often your other half ( assuming she/he is sympathetic ), who knows best of all what we can, or cannot, do. I have to admit that, to begin with, I was in denial.My wife, who swims forty lengths twice a week, is forever nagging me to exercise in this way, but I am none too keen! My preference is swimming in the sea, but as we live near Leamington Spa, that is not likely to happen.
I have been attempting to maintain some form of resistance exercise by using exercise bands, they come is varying resistance strengths and certainly appear to help. These were introduced to me by a Physio who had a good understanding of PMR
Hi there Paperroses, I wish you every success in your determination to get strong again. I’m 74 and have PMR since June 2017. I am making progress, loads of trial and error on my journey. Like you I love to be fit. I posted my story a few months ago. Take care.
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