Exercising/working out with fibro?

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blackforesttea
blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Walking slowly for an hour and I'm exhausted with increased pain levels. Holding my phone hurts too...but there's gotta be some way to get active? And could getting active potentially send me into a flare? Thanks

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  • lx1x
    lx1x Posts: 38,311 Member
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    Go slow and work yourself up... Instead of an hour.. do 20 mins.. then 30 so on until you/your body get used to it.
  • Fflpnari
    Fflpnari Posts: 975 Member
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    Definitely start slow. does swimming cause a pain flare?
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,467 Member
    edited May 2019
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    Wear a cheap pedometer for a week. Average distance for a week. Next day walk that far plus 100 steps. Start easy.
  • blackforesttea
    blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
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    Fflpnari wrote: »
    Definitely start slow. does swimming cause a pain flare?
    Not sure, haven't been swimming in years, well since before the pain started actually but it's something I'll be investigating.
  • blackforesttea
    blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
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    lx1x wrote: »
    Go slow and work yourself up... Instead of an hour.. do 20 mins.. then 30 so on until you/your body get used to it.

    That's kinda the thing though - I don't have a car, and that necessitates a lot of walking by default. Before this started I had little trouble walking up to 2.5 hours straight just doing errands, even with a bum leg (was hit by a truck), up and down hill, with upwards of 15lbs of groceries on my back...and kitty litter! So my body IS used to it...but now it's like, freaking out. It's like all my stamina has been sucked dry, and I'm looking for ways around that/maybe return to previous levels. Kinda frustrating.
  • pierinifitness
    pierinifitness Posts: 2,231 Member
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    @blackforesttea, only you know your pain and the advice from others, despite being great, is without the benefit of knowing the cross you carry.

    The only thing I can offer is that 30 or 60 minutes of exercise can be done continuously or in intervals. For example, 30 minutes is 30 minutes continuously or 30 rounds of 1 minute each or 15 rounds of 2 minutes each, etc., with rest and recovery between rounds.

    Wishing you the best.
  • jessicaredman8
    jessicaredman8 Posts: 9 Member
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    I've always been an advocate of yoga, whether it's taking a class or self practice at home. I like the focus that comes with concentrating on the breath (also the benefit of doing a practice at home means that you're still there if you get knackered halfway through).
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,409 Member
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    Has your fibro been investigated properly? I'm asking because working out reduces vitamin B12, and B12 is necessary for healthy nerves. Thus working out might make your condition worse. Btw, if you have low B12 levels (those can only be measured properly if off all B12 for at least 4 months, including multivitamins and fortified cereals) then just taking pills won't help.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    edited May 2019
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    There was a systematic review last year that show strength training was highly beneficial for people dx'd with fibro.

    The SR review found reductions in...
    Pain
    Fatigue
    Depression & Anxiety

    Improvements in...
    Strength(33-66%)
    Sleep
    Quality of life

    No study showed a increase in pain & adherence was high compared to aerobic exercise.

    Many people including myself deal with chronic pain 24/7. Unfortunately the majority of the medical field don't comprehend the benefits of strength training. Also unfortunately the public is taught to be afraid of pain and lean towards being sedentary which is unhealthy. You see evidence of this every day here from posters suggesting to stop any activity that pain is present which according to science is the worse thing you can do.

    Glad to hear you are proactive and I wish I could offer you my services pro bono, but I don't believe there is a way without getting another warning/strike from MFP.

    I wish you the best & good luck.

  • blackforesttea
    blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
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    jessicaredman8 wrote: »
    I've always been an advocate of yoga, whether it's taking a class or self practice at home. I like the focus that comes with concentrating on the breath (also the benefit of doing a practice at home means that you're still there if you get knackered halfway through).

    Thank you, I'll look into it more. Yoga has been recommended to me in the past before this developed but I've always shied away from it thanks to my wonky blood pressure. But right now I'm frustrated enough to try it haha, youtube is amazing.
  • blackforesttea
    blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    There was a systematic review last year that show strength training was highly beneficial for people dx'd with fibro.

    The SR review found reductions in...
    Pain
    Fatigue
    Depression & Anxiety

    Improvements in...
    Strength(33-66%)
    Sleep
    Quality of life

    No study showed a increase in pain & adherence was high compared to aerobic exercise.

    Many people including myself deal with chronic pain 24/7. Unfortunately the majority of the medical field don't comprehend the benefits of strength training. Also unfortunately the public is taught to be afraid of pain and lean towards being sedentary which is unhealthy. You see evidence of this every day here from posters suggesting to stop any activity that pain is present which according to science is the worse thing you can do.

    Glad to hear you are proactive and I wish I could offer you my services pro bono, but I don't believe there is a way without getting another warning/strike from MFP.

    I wish you the best & good luck.

    Thank you for your in depth and thoughtful post, these claims are very fascinating and definitely warrant looking into. I'll be putting my google-fu to work c:
  • blackforesttea
    blackforesttea Posts: 14 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Has your fibro been investigated properly? I'm asking because working out reduces vitamin B12, and B12 is necessary for healthy nerves. Thus working out might make your condition worse. Btw, if you have low B12 levels (those can only be measured properly if off all B12 for at least 4 months, including multivitamins and fortified cereals) then just taking pills won't help.

    I'm not sure what you mean by 'investigated properly' but my nutrient levels, electrolytes, hormone levels, x-rays, ultrasounds, and CT scans have all come back optimal as of late. These tests have been ongoing for a number of years because I haven't always been as healthy as I am (at least on paper) now, so I'm confident the work-up I've had done has been extensive enough for my doctor to be confident in her diagnosis. I will also be talking to her about this subject when I see her next, but I know there's a number of people who have been diagnosed with fibro on this website and was hoping to gain insight based on experience from them.
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
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    blackforesttea wrote: »
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    There was a systematic review last year that show strength training was highly beneficial for people dx'd with fibro.

    The SR review found reductions in...
    Pain
    Fatigue
    Depression & Anxiety

    Improvements in...
    Strength(33-66%)
    Sleep
    Quality of life

    No study showed a increase in pain & adherence was high compared to aerobic exercise.

    Many people including myself deal with chronic pain 24/7. Unfortunately the majority of the medical field don't comprehend the benefits of strength training. Also unfortunately the public is taught to be afraid of pain and lean towards being sedentary which is unhealthy. You see evidence of this every day here from posters suggesting to stop any activity that pain is present which according to science is the worse thing you can do.

    Glad to hear you are proactive and I wish I could offer you my services pro bono, but I don't believe there is a way without getting another warning/strike from MFP.

    I wish you the best & good luck.

    Thank you for your in depth and thoughtful post, these claims are very fascinating and definitely warrant looking into. I'll be putting my google-fu to work c:

    Keep in mind these are not considered claims but actual current evidence.

    I've had a lot of success training people with fibro as well as autoimmune diseases. Their quality of life is great now compared to before training.
  • MikePfirrman
    MikePfirrman Posts: 3,307 Member
    edited May 2019
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    My wife's Fibro (now nearly in remission) was made much worse by Water Aerobics in pools. Most with Fibro are also extremely chemically sensitive. Tai Chi is a much better option and shown to reduce pain clinically.

    Look into going gluten free and changing to a Whole Food plant based diet. Everyone I know that has actually done that with Fibro has gotten dramatically better or healed completely. Sounds easy but most won't do it. There are clinical studies that support both.

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