Exercise and pain

Cinnabon64

Has exercise lowered your pain levels? My Dr. says that exercise is what is supposed to help with pain better than my pain meds I've been on for a long time. Well, I have been activity exercising regularly for 7 months now, and I have lost 50 lbs, but I still have my Fibro pain. Yes, I do feel a lot better, have a lot more energy than I used to, but I still have the pain to deal with.

I see him tomorrow,NAND will let him know this, and I really think, in fact KNOW, that the pain meds I am on DO help with my Fibro pain!

apatheticsloth

In my years since becoming ill with Fibro, exercise has never lowered my pain levels. Yes, it's helped with other things but like you, I always have my Fibro pain.

Does your doc have much experience with Fibro? Maybe he's comparing that overall "feeling better" thing to having less pain.

Good luck at your appt.

joybedford

I exercise regularly and am in constant pain from fibro my other friends with fibro and my husband said I was maybe overdoing the exercise and felt I was exhausting myself but I continued anyway. I have been on holiday recently and decided to have a break from exercise (I would usually continue my running at least). I have been in as much if not more pain as usual and also very low in mood. I am trying to motivate myself to get back into exercise. I have never felt so exhausted and unmotivated, so for me if I ever motivate myself to get exercising again I will continue as I believe it helps my condition. I don't take any meds at the moment as they all make me feel very spaced out and even more tired exercise is my drug.

wideeyedla

Doesn't help with pain, and, in fact, if I overdo it, can make the pain worse. I just wish it were more predictable. Some days I can handle a bodyweight workout, and some days I can't.

BrendaLee

Exercise makes my immediate pain much worse. It often takes a week or so to recover from even a short workout, which makes consistency impossible.

gavians

Exercise helps my pain. But it is a long, slow, gradual process. You cant just start running a 10k. Start by walking a half mile. Then a mile. Then two miles. The try running a quarter mile. etc. It took me about three years to get where I am now. 5 years ago I couldn't handle grocery shopping because of the pain. Tonight I lifted weights for 1.5 hours and ran 4 miles right after. It can get better.

vpsorrels

I find that I can walk, ride a recumbent bike and swim (if the water is REALLY warm - which is rare); that's all I have found that does not hurt. Any others suggestions would be helpful. What types of other exercises do you all try?

Darklady5

Exercise does help me in my fibro pains it doesn't make them to go away but since I started exercising my muscles stiffness is not so bad as it used to be, I have a little bit more energy and my joints don't ache as much as they used to. However, the pain is always there some days the pain is unbearable, others I can deal with it.
I think that with the right combination of healthy diet, exercises and keep stress away - this is my major problem - we can reduce our fibromyalgia pains indeed

maureennolan56

i dont care what they say....exercise does not always lower the pain we have. i still do it though, for my own brain and i know my diabetes thanks me for it!

EdwardBarrera

An exercise can cause us to reinforce compensation patterns thus those issues in the tissues remain.

Doctors are not trained in movement based approaches. Most do not know pandiculations which is an act of reprogramming the central nervous system. This simple act brings muscles to rest - according to the founder of modern day clinical medicine.

As someone who tried to stretch my way out of fibromyalgia without success but did find success with a proper set of exercises and movements geared towards changing compensation patterns.

I just published my first ebook on Amazon, Move Like an Animal - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HFFSWLC.

Now at 52 I compete in local, state and national soccer events without having to worry about recovery, being sore or stiff and naturally there is no repercussion from the fibromyalgia of my 20's and 30's.

My dog Buddy, who just passed away, always reminded me to pandiculate. This is the very act we can all remember to do to give ourself a chance a moving more effectively with less stiffness, easier mobility and have a set of tools which can blow away any hot tub or other therapeutic means. Our brains are designed to create powerful chemicals of relaxation while at the same we can reprogram our issues in the tissues back to comfort. It's a time thing but like fine wine, we can age successfully given a set of tools and road map to get us there.

Think well, eat well, move well!

canadjineh

Exercise alone doesn't fix my pain (I used to be a Personal Trainer/Fitness Leader and Physio Rehab Assistant pre-fibro) BUT it does help my emotional health, my range of motion, my weight issues (which I never had before I got ill). Yes, studies have shown that our bodies take twice as long to clear lactic acid in our muscles so just expect to be a little sore for a bit longer than others. What I do find helps my pain is stress reduction (by whatever means you find works), a completely gluten free diet (same as a celiac), and chiropractic/massage treatments. Exercise DOES help with my arthritis though, you just have to learn when to scale back and when to push.

Thezestiest

For as long as I can remember, exercise has always hurt - even in childhood. I guess that's why I became an artist and not an athlete!

squindles

Exercise makes my immediate pain much worse. It often takes a week or so to recover from even a short workout, which makes consistency impossible.

^this^ It's very depressing. Even though I've been overweight for a long time, I've always been very active. Now I can't even walk without being in bed for the next couple of days :frown:

canadjineh

One thing to remember when you think about pain & exercise is that Fibromyalgia pain is NOT a sign of inflammation or injury - it's from overactive nerves and an excess of P-cells (among other things) which technically means that you are NOT DOING YOUR BODY HARM by the exercise. I know it doesn't feel good necessarily (and that can be an understatement), but doing nothing but rest IS detrimental to the body and WILL debilitate it further. Muscles will atrophy, followed by joint instability, causing balance issues, and never mind about the cardiovascular and pulmonary downturns.

If you exercise - and that means as much movement as you can muster (not necessarily a 5K run or an hour of Spin class) - you will help prevent premature deterioration of your body. I know I sound like some preachy doc, but please remember not only do I have a background in Fitness & Physical Rehab but I also have Fibro. I DO understand, but I am determined to make the longest healthiest life possible for myself, and I am certain that active living, even though painful at times, will remain a very important part of that. In my case some days that means an hour of Aquacize and a brisk walk later, or going on a moderately difficult day hike with my hubby, or an afternoon of x-country skiing, on other days it means only a gentle stretching program, or a slow, short walk to a friend's house. Yes, for me, this is a huge 'scale back' from what I used to do (teach fitness classes 5 hours a day, work with non-ambulatory tall, heavy physio clients, go on multi-day backpacking trips, etc) but I'm still doing as much as possible.

So please do as much as YOU possibly can each day, even if it pains some. You are doing the healthy thing for your body. I hate to see people resign themselves to a couch or bed and really go downhill in their daily activities of living, simply because it hurts. You can take back the control and not be a 'victim.'

Gentle hugs... keep on keepin' on.

rjoberg

I've been trying to add exercise back into my life for a nearly a year. I often have setbacks because of the pain but I try to keep my workouts reasonable and just keep at it knowing that even though I'm hurting I'm not injured. It's difficult to have to go so slowly because I was once extremely active with martial arts and running but I'm not giving up. Right now I'm alternating between beginner's yoga and walking on a treadmill and I seem to be improving at least as far as consistency. I may never be as healthy as I once was but like I said before -- I refuse to give up!

canadjineh

I've been trying to add exercise back into my life for a nearly a year. I often have setbacks because of the pain but I try to keep my workouts reasonable and just keep at it knowing that even though I'm hurting I'm not injured. It's difficult to have to go so slowly because I was once extremely active with martial arts and running but I'm not giving up. Right now I'm alternating between beginner's yoga and walking on a treadmill and I seem to be improving at least as far as consistency. I may never be as healthy as I once was but like I said before -- I refuse to give up!

Good going! We are obviously in a similar boat. Kudos to you - never give up - that's what makes for a 'win' in this fibro game.

Sivangj

In a Norwegian forum I'm in around half of the memembers say exercise have lower their pain. Not in first though after 3-4 month were the pain have been worse than normal they have got a better everyday life due to exercise.
I hope the day will come for me too.
Still I do feel that yoga do help for the migraine I get due to my muscle in the back. So try to do yoga everyday (10 min to 60min) or at least ever 2nd day even though I feel like all Im able to is lie Down on my back.

grasshoppee

Hi I am new to the group and I know these are old posts but I just wanted to share my experiences with exercise and see if anyone can offer any advice. I used to love long distance running as a teen and after a really bad bout of flu I re started my running to find that it hurt a lot I went to the doctors over and over and they just said it was growing pains and to have a break from it but I could never go back to it. Anyway years passed with me discovering along the way that I now felt ill all the time I had loads of time off school with aches, pains, migraines, stomach issues but never got to the bottom of it they just thought I hated school and was trying to get out of it. After school I could never hold down a job I would manage 3-6 months with no life outside work as I'd need to literally have dinner and go straight to bed to be able to get up for work the next day. I would always lose my job either for time off or for mentally breaking down from the struggle of it all. I thought I was weak, why could others cope and I couldn't? Everyone just thought I was useless and so did I. After years of failing college courses and losing jobs I made attempts to kill myself leading me down the path of getting mental health help and being put in supported accommodation where they helped me decide on a path and with their help I finally completed a college course and got a job I loved only to then get extremely ill and finally get a diagnosis of CFS and Fibro. I then moved back to where I grew up as I needed the support of my parents while bed bound and very ill indeed. oh I forgot in between all this I tried to get fit and became addicted to the gym. I joined witha friend but where she got fitter and fitter I got weaker and weaker! I refused to quit until I;d made myself really poorly , determined to try and keep up with my friend Anyway fast forward to now 3 years after diagnosis, 3 stone heavier and I want to to try exercise again so I have ordered the leslie sansome walk at home dvd and I have done half and hour (1mile) three times so far. The first two times went ok, I felt good, the third time I struggled and its caused a flare and I feel really poorly and flu like symptoms...do I push through and risk making myself ill? or stop? I'm also aware that half an hour exercise is not enough to burn fat but i don;t dare do more than the half an hour! Sorry for the essay but I wanted people to realise why I am a bit scared to continue as its took me so long to get to a point where I am well enough to even try...

canadjineh

grasshoppee! Good for you for giving it another go... btw, I think a lot of us have gotten lost in the 'new' MFP forums and for a long time I couldn't find the groups I had joined. I must admit I don't comment as much as I used to simply because I find the site hard to get around now. Be patient with everyone, because you know how it is with FM & CFS... sometimes it's too much effort to hit the keys or think of something to even say. Remember that weight loss happens in the kitchen and fitness in the gym/exercise arena. So if you want to lose weight, you will need to look to your food intake. Try to reduce as much processed food as you can because it tends to be high in fat, salt, and sugars/carbs but lower in nutrients. Set your MFP diary to sedentary and check off how quickly you would like to lose the weight. Try to be realistic because extra stress doesn't help either. Do you have dietary issues related to your FM as I do? That may be something to look at as well. I am eating relatively low carb and normal amounts of protein with a fair bit of fat. I am in maintenance since the beginning of March after using a low carb/low fat/adequate protein diet. Eat lots of fresh low carb vegetables and lean proteins. A bit of fruit, and some dairy if you can handle it. Do whatever you can on each day. If you feel up to a walk with the dvd go for it, if you don't, do some easy tai chi, stretches or slow dancing around your living room, whatever it takes. Some movement is better than none! Always!! My Doc & Rheumie both suggested that I take pain killers immediately after my exercise, and ice or heat whatever I need. Some areas feel better iced for me and others in a hot bath. Both my docs are very active and appreciate that that is a focus in my life too. And sometimes when I've overdone it, rest for the next couple of days with good music and a good book. Once you've lost some more weight it will help in your exercise issues too (feels better on the joints & muscles). Movement helps our mental health too. Even if you aren't sweating, lol. Go out and get some fresh air, look around at the beauty surrounding you and think of your friends & family that love you.
Hugs! You are welcome to friend me if you wish - just write a message as to how we know each other - remind me about the FM group connection

OriginalKatie

gavians wrote: »

Exercise helps my pain. But it is a long, slow, gradual process. You cant just start running a 10k. Start by walking a half mile. Then a mile. Then two miles. The try running a quarter mile. etc. It took me about three years to get where I am now. 5 years ago I couldn't handle grocery shopping because of the pain. Tonight I lifted weights for 1.5 hours and ran 4 miles right after. It can get better.

I agree. You need to start off very very easily so that you can re-train your brain that exercise is not harmful. I had to start up my exercise again by working my way up gradually. I wasn't able to push myself like I used to a few years ago. I saw an exercise physiologist at the pain management program and he was awesome. He gave me some rehabilitative/corrective type exercises with some light cardio (cycling and walking). I was then able to gradually add in some light strength stuff and work my way up. Now I feel like my pain has greatly improved over the course of this year, and I put that down to the exercise (and increasing my antidepressant as well).