Living Daily with Chronic Invisible Illness

Fibromyalgia and Exercise

There are many forms of exercise for Fibro sufferers. I have had inquiries as to whether or not the pool therapy and the myofascial massage I tried this past summer has benefited me.

In all honesty, I would have to say no. The pool therapy made my normal daily routine more cumbersome to maneuver through. After six weeks of determining to see it through (which I did), I felt it did not help my pain levels at all and even made me feel more debilitated.

As to the myofascial massage, I feel that it was beneficial to my over-all daily life, but took quite a bit out of my days with driving 30 minutes to get there and then 30 minutes home. It was also difficult to make it a normal part of my weekly life when “life” itself can be hard enough. The Graston tools they used on me did bring me a form of pain release, but so does my Body Back Buddy. I use that several times each week for trigger point release. Just be sure to drink lots of water when using as it releases built-up toxins into your body that need to be flushed away as soon as you use it.

A diagram of the many different trigger points on one’s back

With that said, I do believe the myofascial message had its benefits. Keep in mind that each person responds to each treatment differently and what did not work for me, may work for you and vise-versa.

For example, walking around my property is a benefit to me. It not only offers exercise, but also brings me a peace and comfort that going to the gym or therapist could never do. Likewise, my Schwinn AirDyne bike I like to use in the cold-weather months, offers me the comforts of home, the flexibility of time and the added bonus of being easy to get to.

The bottom line is that we all need to keep moving. Even on extremely painful days and even if it’s only five minutes. But we do need to set a schedule for walking or whatever form of exercise we choose to do, and keep at it.

I have heard that Pilates can be beneficial to Fibro sufferers. I have not exhausted that one, yet. If you have insight to this, please feel free to leave a comment about your experience. I may try it in the future!

All in all, we cannot become stagnant in our daily activities. I would suggest speaking with your Primary Care Physician or Rheumotologist about a recommendation for you. Perhaps there is a form of Physical Therapy that would work for you. Just keep the communications open with your doctor!

Have a blessed day and gentle hugs!

 

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1 thought on “Fibromyalgia and Exercise”

  1. I tried Pilates and decided after three sessions “I don’t think so” and never returned!

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