Most people who suffer from fibromyalgia start an exercise program Gung Ho, then end up quitting immediately. Why? Because they are exercising the wrong way! They try to do crazy dance moves or exercise with a ball between their legs, ankle weights on, holding hand weights. Ouch! That will cause a lot of pain.
The right way to exercise when you suffer from a painful condition like fibromyalgia is GENTLY.
Stretching:
When you suffer from fibromyalgia, chances are your muscles are tight. Stretching can relieve those tight muscles, therefore relieving the pain in them. Instead of using stretching as a warm up exercise, stretching should be the main exercise about three days a week.
That doesn't mean only do your stretching that day, but instead, stretch for 20 minutes instead of the 10 minutes usually done as a warm-up.
Walking:
Walking is a low impact exercise that is great for people with fibromyalgia. The problem I have seen is people with fibromyalgia take it to far and try to hike up large hills or even mountains, or they may even try to jog a little. This usually makes the pain worse, and puts you back to bed to recover.
Just walk. You can pick up the pace a little if your pain doesn't increase, but just a steady walk for 20 minutes will give you great health benefits.
Yoga or Tai-chi:
Instead of dancing around high paced, swinging your arm and legs, while holding hand weights, why not try Yoga or Tai-chi? Yoga and Tai-chi are both low impact exercises that use your body and mind in a sort of meditative exercise routine. These routines help with weight loss, balance, strengthening muscles and even helps decrease depression.
Keep it simple:
So, forget about getting the next new thing, or trying to swing a kettlebell with another ball between your legs, while wearing ankle weights. Stop bouncing around to no end and jarring your body out of place. Remember, you have a chronic disease that you are working against and that is working against you.
So, instead of working against it, work with it to alleviate that pain.
Make sure you get your doctors OK before trying any kind of exercise.
my doc pushes and wont shut up about exercise
ReplyDeletei try to the best i can yet he always rehashes it every visit
i cant walk due to accidents and something nobody can agree with in my lower back
my pills are all that make me able to function
and he wants to change or take it away because he thinks he know more about it
he doesn't see i cant move or function in the morning for up to a hour or more before things stabilize i cant walk my feet are like walking on knives at times and so much more
he dont see that he dont see the suffering because i can smile and act normal at pain off the charts so he and all docs think im a joke a lair a drug seeker i cant go to the er anymore its a living hell and a nonstop fight physical mental and the medical system its so bad the er would not give me pain meds after a rear end accident i have to travel 20 miles away for a doc who prescribes but fights the whole way and nags the hell out of you
The next time you go to your doctor, don't hide behind that stoic smile. Show him what you are really going through. Fibromyalgia can be mild or severe...it can even be debilitating. Some people with fibro are higher functioning than others. It's better to do a little stretching every day than to try to do to much and end up in a worse pain situation.
ReplyDeleteIt is up to us to educate our doctors about fibromyalgia. The first way to do this is to be honest about your symptoms and to let your doctor know just how you are feeling.
Most people in chronic pain are very stoic and will put on a smiling face even in the worse pain. The next time you go to your doctor, let him see exactly what fibromyalgia really does to you. It took me a long time to get my doctor educated about fibromyalgia. I also had to earn her trust before she would prescribe narcotics.
Unfortuately there are too many actual drug seekers out there, going from office to office and begging for narcotics. This scares doctors into having policies such as not prescribing narcs for anybody, no matter what they have. This is very unfortunate for those of us who are truly in pain from this "invisible" disease.
Good luck to you...Keep fighting...it is the only way those of us who need narcotics for pain are ever going to win!!!