I see a physiotherapist every week and have done so for over 20 years. I also have a mini gym at home - x-trainer, treadmill, vibration plate, and weights. I exercise for 20 - 30 minutes most days.
Today my hips felt painful, so I was on the x-trainer and now feel a lot better. The reason is that the exercise increases blood flow to muscles by widening blood vessels and redistributing blood flow. This helps to supply more oxygen and nutrients to the muscles.
Both my physio and consultant have told me this.
I know how it feels when it's difficult and painful to move but any type of exercise will help. Also consider a decent physio.
Hope this helps someone.
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InTheMoors
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There have been quite a few posts on exercise, not surprising when the forum has well over 40,000 posts - and you will see Related Posts now you have posted - always worth having a look after posting.
I even posted in the last few days with some knee and hip exercises.
You are right about decent physios - however, many patients have suffered at the hands of physios who do not appreciate the limitations imposed by PMR on repetitive exercises, above all.
and you will see Related Posts now you have posted - always worth having a look after posting.
I'm now seeing them and didn't know about this feature. Thanks for pointing it out.
You are right about decent physios - however, many patients have suffered at the hands of physios who do not appreciate the limitations imposed by PMR on repetitive exercises, above all
My physio. tells me that there are physios who specialize in the field of PMR and rheumatics generally. My physio. certainly understands my condition, After a quick google I found these:
I don't think I have given in to PMR - I have had it for over 20 years!! I continued to ski for some years and have lead a pretty normal life. I;m afraid your UK index isn;t much use to me - I live in Italy.
I have to say that I am surprised at the claim of specialists - I know of one or two in Leeds but within the NHS there is certainly a dearth,
It is really a matter of finding a physio who has already dealt with someone with PMR is the best option. I have been to an osteopath who I found better than the physios I had visited. She really understood PMR as well.
Yes it is, but we do make a point of suggesting new members get to know the forum to enable them to get the most out of it…I know it’s difficult for those who maybe aren’t as computer literature as others.
Fran mentions them in her monthly welcome post and there a banner which is on the post page under the first post -unless you have deleted it.
An hour or two spent having a look around forum [if you have the time] really will give you a better experience. ..which is what we hope you get from it.
thank you for sharing your experience with exercise. It was one of the first things I asked my GP, whether its ok to exercise or are there things I shouldnt do. She said start gently and if you feel ok carry on ..... I find I do get tired more than I used to. But I just started some mild weight training with a personal trainer (hoping good for bones) and i do a gentle yoga class. The exercise leaflet from pmrgcauk charity is helpful too. It seems to vary between people, what helps and what doesn't help.
I agree that if you're able and well enough, it's important to engage in some form of exercise.
Any kind of exercise is better than none, but how much is undertaken and in what format will vary from person to person.
Because we tend to easily lose muscle mass when on steroids, it's important to try and maintain this as much as possible.
Other potential side effects of taking steroids, (such as osteoporosis) also need to be considered.
Weight bearing exercises and muscle strengthening exercises can help improve our bone health when undertaken regularly, but if we overwork our muscles, they don't heal & repair as quickly as they should because of the steroids. We have to give them longer than normal to repair which is why adequate 'rest' is equally as important as the exercise!
We also mustn't forget, that if we push ourselves too hard with exercise, we run the risk of causing a flare! Our inflammatory levels may increase to a point where we find we need to increase our steroid dose to bring the PMR under control again, and thats definitely not advised.
Whatever our choice of exercise, we must be mindful of always 'pacing' ourselves and working within safe parameters.
It's about striking that right balance.
My father had PMR and my sister too, and living up north, they both sought specialist physio input, but with no success. I live in the south and I too have yet to discover a physio who truly understands PMR and all it's complexities. You are very lucky if you've been able to source somebody.
You seem to have found a regime that works for you though and I wish you continued success with it.
Is the any research which examines whether it is the steroids or the excess inflammation which causes the problem? I have been told that it is inflammation that is most problematic. As I cannot get my CR P levels down and have a lot of residual inflammation and get a lot of DOMs after simple exercise I very interested in the issue. (My physio says have a rest day in between any day of exercise.) Of course it could be both.
I think it is some of each - or at least, not so much the inflammation, that is a no-brainer, but the actual autoimmune/autoinflammatory disease process attacking the soft tissue is important. Poorly controlled PMR with residual inflammation adds a third factor.
I have read an article in the last week about exercise in rehab that made a big thing of the rest days between exercise days and it is something I always emphasise. Can't remember the reference though, sorry.
Thanks I have poorly controlled PMR . My CRP never got below 8, but I managed to get to 4.5mg of pred in early 2023. Since summer 2023, it has been out of control. I cannot get below a CRP 12 and it has flared again despite methotrexate and a depo- medrone injection from Rod Hughes. I am assuming until I get rid of the residual inflammation I will not be able to reduce because the bucket will be too full and it will be difficult to stop the disease activity. Sarah Mackie said this on a talk but my rheumatology department does not seem to grasp this.
A lot of rheumy departments have similar problems I suspect - they are better at inflammatory arthritis. Did the depot medrone injection work at all? But they wear off after about 3 weeks anyway. Are you better at a higher dose of pred? MTX only works for a small number so that doesn't surprise me.
I am speaking to Rod on Monday and will discuss increasing the steroids but need to watch stomach issues despite coated pred. He . I don’t think the injection lasted. I do need to keep exercising to keep the muscles active but it’s a difficult balancing act.
I agree about rheumy departments, mine is good about GCA and arthritis.
My CRP has been as high as 412 after a hip op and the lowest is about 28. My doctor has done all sorts of tests for various things including cancer, but they have decided it is just my body make up.
I agree totally about exercise. I have been travelling for several months so have relied on the Internet for PMR exercises. I do them 3 times a day and whenever I feel pain. A game changer for me was a comment (I wish I could credit the person) from someone who mentioned doing them at night on waking; not the full whack but enough to stop stiffness developing. If in pain, I move.
Lots of exercise posts as you will see now .I write many replies on various forums relating to exercise and how to build up activities without causing flares.
The key to exercise when you have a chronic condition that causes pain is moderation.
If your condition causes inflammatory pain it's advisable to get your pain stabilised first , as uncontrolled inflammation will trigger a flare of your symptoms.
Everyone should try to keep active during the day and do some movement , even if it's just a few stretches and strolls to reduce pain and fatigue and keep oxygen flowing.
When people return to exercising they should not try to exercise at the same level they did before getting a joint or muscle health condition , because that will cause rebound pain , DOMS and reduce consistency in your activity.
You start at a low level and work up to your comfort zone using low intensity , steady state exercises , resistance and strengthening and taking care not to overexert or extend the hips and shoulders . At first , this might seem a little tedious and you feel you should do more , but my very experienced rheumatology physiotherapist advised strongly against that.
This may mean you only workout for 5 minutes a few times a day at first , or only do short intervals during a whole exercise class.
You need to take care not to do certain types of movement or exercise that overexercise or put too much pressure through the hip and shoulder joints to reduce the risk of causing more inflammation and pain.
It's better to help maintain muscle strength and mass and maintain daily activity to workout to the point that it still feels easy and allow this comfort zone to slowly expand . It's also important not to try to do physically demanding workouts on a physically active day, but to choose to do relaxing movement instead.
Everyone should also give themselves plenty of rests during exercise and drink before , during and after a workout.
Slowly warming up and cooling down before exercise is much more important than it was before when you have a joint or muscle health issue.
Swimming and aqua exercises can make it easier to workout with things like PMR , as the body gets a full body workout with resistance without putting pressure on the joints.
Walking , little and often at first , is a great way to start.
Nordic walking sticks can help with exercise tolerance , breathing , stability and help you to workout the upper body on a walk.
Light weights and resistance bands are generally considered better than using heavy weights.
Low Impact Pilates , Tai Chi and low impact isometric exercises are also very good options.
I did notice that you mentioned a vibration plate.
Not sure if you are noticing more pain now that you have PMR when you use this , or if it isn't affecting you because you have used one for years .
But general physiotherapy guidelines are that use of vibration plates and vibration bands will cause stress and make inflammatory symptoms worse so they aren't recommended for use by people with any type of arthritis, or inflammatory pain conditions that affect the hip, shoulder and knee joints.
So , you might want to reduce your use of that to help prevent the risk of future flares.
As l say though , pacing yourself is important for all types of activity with a chronic condition , it's important to find the right balance of action and relaxation for you as an individual, and it's even more important to find that balance when you do physical activities.
As l say though , pacing yourself is important for all types of activity with a chronic condition , it's important to find the right balance of action and relaxation for you as an individual, and it's even more important to find that balance when you do physical activities.
Totally agree with that.
just one more thing that might help.
I also have a high protein diet, as suggested by my physio. who explained how certain things don't work as well when you get to a certain ago. I take collagen in drinks, soups and stews. I also take biltong, whey drinks and a variety of protein bars.
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