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Exercise and Fibromyalgia

FIBROMYALGIA & EXERCISE

We know that exercise improves the quality of life for everyone- and it can dramatically help those who are diagnosed with “fibromyalgia”.

As you may know, we always stress the importance of our exercise program to improve spinal form, function and posture. With Fibromyalgia, it becomes doubly important to start restoring form and function to the spine to increase the nervous system function, allowing the nerves to work better, decreasing pain and sensitivity.

Along with working to restore function in the spine and nervous system, there are some other exercise options to help with fibromyalgia:

1. Walking: Not only is walking the best cardiovascular exercise for everyone, but it can help with the symptoms of fibromyalgia significantly. If you need to start out slow that’s ok. If 5 minutes is all you can do, that’s fine, but make sure you keep challenging yourself to go longer, faster and further. Try adding 30 seconds to 1 minute each time you walk, and try to get a walk in 4-5 times a week-or daily if possible.

*Tip to making walking more beneficial for your posture: Keep your Ribs up! Put your finger tips on the very lowest ribs on the front of the body. Now, simply raise these ribs upward and outward. Be absolutely sure that you do not tighten up your gluteal’s (butt muscles) or your shoulder muscles. This is all accomplished by not moving anything other than the lower ribs. Now, make sure you let your breath out without lowering the ribs. Now try walking as long as you can. This will be hard at first, but keep working at it!

2. Stretching: Again, something we can all benefit from. Stretching keeps the muscles long, allowing them to function optimally. It also brings blood and hydration to them-and can feel great. Check out our website (www.advancedchirohealth.com) for some good stretching exercises. Yoga can be beneficial as well, but try to keep to the simple poses that focus more on stretching (the sun salutation is great!).

3. Range of Motion Exercises- Most people with fibromyalgia actually feel a lot of pain in their joints. Gentle ROM exercises help to nourish the joints and keep them functioning ideally. Doing these exercises are very simple. Think about what motion the joint does and do it. Push it a bit toward the extremes so that you keep full ranges of motion (there are also Range of motion exercises on our website or ask us about the wobble seat exercises (the best for fibromyalgia) and our joint lubrication program).

Most importantly, keep working hard. There may be days where you think the pain is just too much. Many people who can get up and exercise find that their symptoms decrease and they are able to function better during the day. Set small, short term goals that you know you can achieve, keep a log of your exercise and if you can, find a buddy (even if they don’t have fibromyalgia) to join in on the program! You both will find that you are feeling better simply by incorporating an exercise routine into your life. Take action! The psychological value of this is immense.

If you or a friend has fibromyalgia, contact our office so we can help you develop a program to control or even eliminate your symptoms!

Carpe Diem,

Erika Anderholm, CPT, CA & Doc Bacon

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