Fibromyalgia And Exercise : But it Hurts!
Anyone who suffers from fibromyalgia is constantly aware of the debilitating chronic pain that comes from the 18 trigger points on the body; some of these points are more painful than others, but they are all sources of moderate to intense pain.
Morning stiffness in muscles, joints and connective tissues is not a good way to start the day. As time progresses, trigger point pain increases with stress, lack of restorative sleep, depression and intense chronic fatigue.
Often fibromyalgia suffers are aghast when their physician prescribes the one thing that seems completely irrational: exercise. "I hurt all over my body and you want me to do WHAT?" the patient may exclaim. However, it is undeniable that fibromyalgia and exercise are indeed compatible, if not essential.
How Does Exercise Help Fibromyalgia?
When we examine the facts, the concept of fibromyalgia and exercise makes perfect sense. In fact, without appropriate exercise, fibromyalgia symptoms can worsen considerably, resulting in a vicious cycle of pain from the trigger points.
Successful symptom relief from fibromyalgia is a multi-layered approach consisting of medications, behavior modification such as improving certain dietary practices, and beneficial, low-impact exercise and stretching of the muscles, joints and connective tissues. Mild aerobic exercise can considerably improve fibromyalgia pain symptoms.
The pain symptoms of fibromyalgia make the sufferer much less likely to move and stretch already painful areas of the body. Thus, they become sedentary, which only increases muscle stiffness and pain upon movement. Exercise, the one thing that can relieve these stiff, sore trigger points, seems impossible. Yet those suffering from fibromyalgia need the appropriate, healing type of exercises. Obviously, intense and high-impact aerobic exercise is contraindicated for acutely painful trigger points.
Physicians who treat fibromyalgia often send their patients to an exercise physiologist or physical therapist that specializes in combining effective exercise and fibromyalgia treatment. This type of beneficial exercise can include swimming, slow walking on a treadmill, stretching and yoga-like movements.
These exercises for fibromyalgia don't focus on muscle building or strength; rather, they are designed to increase movement of affected joints and muscles, thereby relieving trigger point pain and stiffness. Initially, the patient may resist the notion of exercise as a form of relief from fibromyalgia symptoms because it hurts to move these tender points. Starting very slowly with mild stretching and swimming are the most often prescribed exercises for fibromyalgia relief.
The goal of exercise for fibromyalgia sufferers is not to run the four-minute mile; without a daily routine of gentle stretching and isometric-type exercises, the pain from trigger points will only increase the severity of symptoms.