It’s not easy to do unless levels are at a good level and other factors are good but I know I’m my experience I’m best when regularly exercises my. Also any thing that supports muscle strength.
When I first became hypo the Internet was barely a thing and info was sparse. I discovered by trial and error that strength and hit cardio exercise generally helped me be my best, but if I’m honest I thought I was the same as everyone else!
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Well, I'm no expert, but I don't think that study shows very much. For a start, why were the participants all male? We know that male and female bodies react differently. And, given that most hypos are female, what was the point of using just males? And, the talk as if hypothyroidism is just one disease. It isn't. What was the cause of the disease? How many were Hashi's? How many had Central Hypo (that would be the interesting one)? There are so many variables and yet they used just 20 men, one presumes with equal TSH/FT4/FT3 results - or did they just go by the dose they were taking? - and skimmed through only three months, and came to the conclusion that, yes, exercise helps thyroid function. Well, all I can say is: whoopee. I'm so glad you spent all that time and effort on such a useless conclusion which affects such a tiny minority of the thyroid community.
Conclusion: Every hypothyroid patient should do regular physical exercise along with thyroxine replacement to improve thyroid function.
From what is in the abstract, there is no proof that thyroid function improved (as in, the thyroid gland produced more thyroid hormone). And I can't get that sentence to mean anything else.
That T4 and T3 might have been higher, and TSH lower, is claimed but no evidence as to why! Does exercise prevent or reduce excretion of thyroid hormone?
Agree with greygoose about much else.
One of the most obvious questions is whether this would be the same in someone who has no thyroid? Born without or removed.
I seem to benefit from light exercise when feeling well. Have recently been doing physio for a problem with my hip. Advised to exercise certain muscles to muscle fatigue in order to make them stronger. This plus any other exercise leading to stiff muscles, most recently my hands, seems to lead to generally feeling unwell and pain in muscles I haven't exercised.
I think with me its inflammation causing some kind of chain reaction.
I had a lot of joint /muscle pain before being diagnosed which initially improved when given Levothyroxine.
After a couple of years got old symptoms back. T3 in low but cannot get a prescription for anything other than Levo. Also suspect that there may be some reactive arthritis going on.
Think with me its more a case of Levo being ineffective than an allergy.
Scientists have proven that a combination of T4/T3 helps many for whom levo alone doesn't work. I am also aware that in the UK, T3 has been withdrawn altogether unless prescribed by an endocrinologist. We also know many of them will not prescribe either so what is solution to help patients who do need to resolve unpleasant symptoms? It forces people to try to obtain T3 from elsewhere if possible. This is very unsatisfactory.
I do HIIT cardio, strength and core exercises too! Bring properly dosed is key (as well as listening to my body and resting when needed). Also, finding what exercises work best for you. (My elliptical trainer is gentle on my joints as I’m not pounding pavement). I love being fit and I do so much better when I exercise. It isn’t easy by any means and I do have days where I’d rather not but when I don’t exercise, my body rebels. So, I’m sticking with it.
When regular runners were compared to those who did not run the runners had far less knee problems, so pounding the pavements may actually be better for the joints than not. I feel better if I exercise but it was very hard when I was not medicated, then not optimised on medication. It would wipe me out for days. I don’t suppose that could have been good for me my body was just trying to conserve energy to stay alive not waste it on unnecessary exercise. I think being optimised is key. Guilt tripping ill patients because they are not running around like olympiads seems to be another dereliction of care being employed by NHS medicos. If people felt well they would find exercising came naturally to them. It is all upside down thinking, the body puts stoppers on it because of an underlying problem and the underlying problem is what needs addressing. The current attitude seems to be anyone who gets ill must have brought it upon themselves because they are inherently lazy. I simply don’t agree with that assumption. It is lazy thinking!
And having other levels such as ferritin, vit d and b 12/ folate is ridiculously important.
I know that being young made a difference for me; I was 20. I didn’t get well for a long time but I had no knowledge and had been put on seroxat first which was before all the investigations into how awful that can be.
I also have hyper mobility syndrome and don’t carry weight / loose weight and muscle very easily. I’ve personally noticed that I always am fitter and well balanced thyroid wise if maintaining strong muscles and core.
There is an awful lot more to this research and also a holistic approach to exercise. No one can just start doing an hour a day. And well timed rest is absolutely key.
I existed in a cfs state for several years; thyroid levels were right. I had to learn to pace and build my self up again very slowly. Pregnancy really helped simply as you build. A lot of muscle very quickly. I’ve maintained that muscle.
I’ve had 5 months of being hypothyroid which has been tough. I can finally feel myself starting to get better but exercise is definitely helping.
Undoubtedly being a woman disadvantages you with hypothyroidism. Building muscle simply isn’t as easy. Other hormones cause issues. Iron can be a problem and we are more prone to osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. And yes this isn’t accounted for in the research. There are flaws and those that need t3 won’t be able to ‘simply’ try this.
I often feel that hypothyroid patients need a wider package of care from initial diagnosis that also includes some tailored ‘physio’ if you will, a level of emotional support / cbt (that it takes time to heal being a big factor, similar to some of the physio cbt services for those with cfs which I’ve had).
Every runner I know has knee and/or back and/or feet issues, including my husband! I’ve been fortunate. Not that I’ve been without injury - just none due to cardio.
I will agree that weight bearing exercises are a MUST. Just have to be careful and smart.
I’m in the US and here, docs are also quick to jump on folks about their weight instead of getting their patients optimally medicated. Especially woman!
I actually receive a kind of reverse discrimination. Because o don’t “look sick” and am fairly fit,g symptoms can easily be dismissed. Very frustrating.
So I do my research, keep lots of notes, take my hubby with me to my appts (he backs me up), ask good questions and challenge my doctors. I don’t always win but I do pretty well overall.
Yeah you just can’t win with these people sometimes.
I think statistically it is better to run that not, but that does not mean it is appropriate for everyone of course. Like with thyroid medication we are all individuals what suits one does not suit everyone.
Having the energy is only one problem, having a body that can cope and recover from exercise is another problem, what to do while your waiting to recover is another. Thyroid meds replace thyroid hormones and stop us being as tired as we were before replacement, but doesn't replace your youth and vitality unfortunately. I honestly struggled to get out of bed before replacement and its easy to want more and more hours of the day to enjoy life now that we have some thyroid hormone but we should remember that our bodies have failed us via bad lifestyles or just plain bad luck and genetics and there was a good reason why our thyroid quit working and maybe there are other parts that don't work also which are not yet diagnosed that are causing all the additional problems. I am grateful to medical science for the extra hours of vitality which via hormone replacement, allowed me to Zumba my heart out for an extra two years than my own thyroid allowed me to do. Getting older is not a disease and this has been the hardest reality for me to except, there is no eternal youth pill available at this time to replace my lost youth or to replace all the damage I have done to my self and my thyroid by not looking after my body better whilst growing into this car wreck of an adult. I know many of you have eaten well and have looked after yourselves very carefully and should not really be going through such a rough time now and that's really unfortunate but honestly for me and everything I've put my body through over the years I've got what could only be expected. As thanks for the extra energy received from replacement I personally want to use some of it to explain to youngsters a what not to do to your body whilst young and carefree.
I did look after myself very well but I could not help the genetic card I was dealt. I guess life is not really a predictable thing and a does not always lead to b as it is a pretty complex affair. Perhaps you thyroid problems started much earlier than you realised and upset your equilibrium. I don’t think beating oneself up about what has been and gone is very helpful I think the body is very capable of healing if the right conditions can be provided for recovery and making the best of the here and now is more helpful. I agree age does slow you up but in my case I feel better than I did in many ways eg my chronic depression has completely evaporated - that alone is huge in allowing me to be more positive even though I know age is having its impact. I was really overtly hypothyroid before I got medicated so I was very lucky to make the level of recovery that I have done. I regard every day as a bonus 😊
Not really a surprise. Although I took up running and then after a few weeks had a relapse which I can’t help thinking was caused by wearing myself out through running! Maybe I was wrong in thinking this was the cause.
Running is hard work and it uses a lot of energy so if you are not 100% it can be very draining in fact it is pretty draining if you are 100%! Best to start with run/walk and build up very gradually indeed.
Research has been done to study whether aerobic exercise enhances thyroid function. Almost all studies use male subjects because of a traditional avoidance of female subjects in medical studies. Hence, little is know of how females differ genetically from males, though it’s becoming known that it’s significant.
That said, there’s a connection between aerobics and stimulation of the thyroid gland. I have found benefits for myself.
The second link is to a 2013 textbook. It summarizes the effects of exercise on the PTA thus:
“Physical activity affects the pituitary–thyroid axis and the peripheral metabolism of thyroxine. Factors that mitigate alterations in thyroid hormone economy with exercise include age, baseline fitness, nutritional status, ambient temperature, altitude, as well as the time, intensity, and type of exercise performed. The most consistent finding is that reverse T3 tends to increase with exercise. This may reflect an adaptive mechanism aimed at more efficient energy expenditure.”
I have a gland that works somewhat and exercise can be invigorating at times. I have an athyroid friend who skis and hikes fine on Levothyroxine, but everyone has different circumstances and not all exercise has the same effect in the thyroid economy.
Before I was treated and probably in the early stages of hypothyroidism I did a lot of long distance cycling and running. I used to notice my voice went very deep after a long duration of exercise lasting a day or two. Later on as I became more seriously ill my voice went deep all the time and eventually I sounded like a darlek.
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