Depends entirely on what kind of pain it is. Is it something like fibro where the pain does not signal injury? Then push yourself as hard as you can. Is it arthritis or some other pain that DOES signal injury? Then exercise until it starts to signal injury and stop. (My signal of injury is a sharp, stabbing pain vs the constant aching pain.) Source: the medical director at our Health Science Center's pain clinic.

For fibro sufferers:

I was originally diagnosed with fibro; it has since been altered to central sensitization, myofascial pain syndrome, degenerated discs, Willis-Ekbom disease, and arthritis. Yes, mofo'ing arthritis was originally filed under fibro. I remember full well the pain of lying in bed, the mere weight of my joints on the bed was unbearable and the weight of a blanket on top of those joints was worse than hell. Having been PROPERLY diagnosed now, I have meds and a machine that can treat the pain effectively (zero opiates btw). Even if you don't have arthritis, it is entirely possible you have myofascial pain or even myofascial pain syndrome; those and "fibro" go hand in hand it seems. Myofascial pain syndrome gives me that invisible line some of you have spoken of, being properly treated for it means I can go beyond that invisible line without being bed-ridden after. In fact, the only line I need to deal with now is the arthritis; even the central sensitization is being contained. Let me assure you that going beyond that invisible line of MPS is reducing the effect it has on my body. My calves and feet bottoms no longer hurt, the pain in my upper arms has decreases significantly, and the hard-as-rock muscles in the shoulder have begun to loosen up a little.

Now I'm going to be a complete @sshole. I have, over the years, visited many chronic pain/fibro forums in an attempt to get help dealing with my chronic pain. I left each and every one of those groups because I saw the same thing over and over again: ppl complaining about their suffering but not willing to do anything real to get it under control. No matter how many science articles I posted to back up what my specialists say, these ppl all had excuses as to why it just wouldn't possibly work for them. A large amount of my threads trying to help ppl who claimed they wanted help went ignored. For the most part, these forums were there for ppl to whine about their suffering, and that's it. I'm starting to see that here. I've seen others post articles about new insights (and thus possible new treatments) for idiopathic pain (aka fibro) and they have gone largely ignored. Same for any time I try to tell ppl that your fibro may in fact be something else that is entirely treatable and to not let yourselves be swept under the rug and forgotten. It goes completely ignored as though ppl WANT to be labelled as fibro and continue taking their pain pills and *****ing (opiates actually make fibro worse, btw). Ppl ask for advice and anything that isn't simple commiseration gets followed with all sorts of excuses and but's.

I feel a little off arguing with a statement made by the director of a pain clinic, but...

exactly, "but". Don't listen to the man who has dedicated his entire career to solving the mysteries of pain, and certainly do not listen to his patient who has taken all his advice and thus reduced the pain to manageable levels. Obviously neither of us know *kitten* about dealing with pain.

I am so sick and f*cking tired of the *kitten*, and I am so done with this group. If you would rather whine and cry about your *syndrome* and how much pain you are in, and how you can't do this or that, and in general look for sympathy instead of solutions, by all means have at 'er. But be f*cking honest with yourselves about it. Don't look for sympathy under the guise of wanting help, you're wasting the time of the ppl who actually want to help.

Depends entirely on what kind of pain it is. Is it something like fibro where the pain does not signal injury? Then push yourself as hard as you can. Is it arthritis or some other pain that DOES signal injury? Then exercise until it starts to signal injury and stop. (My signal of injury is a sharp, stabbing pain vs the constant aching pain.) Source: the medical director at our Health Science Center's pain clinic.

Even if pain does not signal injury, it can STILL raise your blood pressure if you put your body under stress by "pushing as hard as you can". That's a good way to have a stroke or a heart attack especially if you're overweight and used to a more sedentary lifestyle.

My pain has raised my usually normal range blood pressure sky-high in the past. Then, I feel lightheaded, dizzy, and nauseous. I'm pretty sure i should stick to easing into exercise rather than pushing full force and making myself feel worse.

Fibro is still not well understood. Doctors can't agree if it's neurological (I vote yes), rheumatological, or auto-immune disease. I'd rather study many articles than take the advice of any one doctor...but that's just me.

I know this is a late post but I'm new to the boards. Here's my take on it. When I trained with the right people, I succeeded in exercising like an athlete. At one point, I was training along side of a Canadian Football League player (I of course was doing lower weights but same exercise). I had days where either my fibro or endo would act up. I would still go to the gym and my trainers would work on stretching and even some active release therapy. Some days, all I would do is a foam roller but a least I was there (and complaining all of the way). I'm now back at the gym but not a one I really want to be because there doesn't seem to be that in our little town.

Yes, being in the water helps me as well - especially if the water is warm. I did physical therapy in the water, once, and loved it. I could do so much more while in the water. It IS easy to overdo it, though, because you won't feel it till later.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to a pool very often.

Hi all, I am new to this group as of today. I have had Fibro for 9 years now and is it is to say the least....tricky. One of my physicians explained to me that exercise is a must for me with the Fibro. However, she said first we had to get my muscle spasms and other symptoms under control. She started me on a supplement called BIO-CMP and within a couple of weeks my muscle spasms were reduced significantly. You can find this supplement online for about $12.00 -- it is a combination of calcium, magnesium and potassium...all ingredients that help your muscles function as they should. I started with 6 tablets a day for two weeks and have now been taking 4 tablets a day for years. If I do not take them for a week then I am right back to severe muscle spasms. It greatly reduced the painful rock hard muscles in my shoulders and neck as well. When I began exercising again I took it very slowly. I knew I could easily get on the elliptical and go for 30-45 minutes. However, if I did I could be laid up in bed for the next week. So I began by only doing 5 minutes and gradually increasing from there. For me, there are some days where my body is letting me know that I need to rest and not exercise on that day. Most days, however, I do 30 minutes on the elliptical and stop only because after 30 minutes my time is better spent moving over to do some strength training. I have been feeling so much better these days. I realize that I will always have to deal with the Fibro and I am constantly learning new ways to manage my condition. I don't know if this has been helpful to you but I thought I should mention it because I've seen such a positive change in myself. Don't mean to sound like an infomercial but most people have never heard of it and most doctors don't know what it is either when I mention it to them.