Danny Davis
In this article: The best types of exercise to alleviate symptoms, improve your strength, energy and quality of life with Fybromyalgia.
What is Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is medical disorder that involves widespread pain in the muscles, joints, and tissues along with extra-musculoskeletal symptoms of sleep disturbances, memory problems, chronic fatigue, and issues related to mood, such as anxiety, and depression. Symptoms are persistent and this disorder is still widely misunderstood by medical experts.
Some areas may be so painful and tender they can’t even be touched without stabbing pain. Fibromyalgia is a very real condition but only just a decade ago, it was still largely regarded as a psychosomatic condition or a conversion disorder brought on by psychological or mental problems.
So far the exact cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, but researchers believe that in those who suffer from fibromyalgia painful sensations are amplified in the brain. Therefore, fibromyalgia is regarded as a brain disorder that is caused by abnormal processing of pain signals by the brain.
Development Of Fibromyalgia
- In general, fibromyalgia develops after a person has experienced some kind of physical trauma or has had surgery.
- Some people develop this condition after a major psychological stressor or following a minor infection.
- Yet, others suffer from Fibromyalgia without any evident dramatic shift in normal health, and instead develop the symptoms gradually with no identifiable event causing the disease.
About 50 million people suffer from fibromyalgia, but women develop it at a 10 times higher rate than men do. Also, those who have fibromyalgia also have a greater incidence of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMJ disease), tension-type headaches, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, and anxiety disorders.
There is no known cure for fibromyalgia, and treatment involves managing symptoms, including the chronic pain. Treatments include prescription medication, various alternative remedies to improve quality of life and for pain management, reducing stress, diet, and of course, exercise.
Exercise For Fibromyalgia
According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise can be highly beneficial for people with symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome. It is advised that you check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.
Many people with fibromyalgia are in so much pain they do not even want to move, much less exercise. While some may think that exercise may make pain worse, this is simply not the case.
Though you may not be ready to jump right into exercise, the fact of the matter is it is one of the most efficient and healing treatments for fibromyalgia syndrome.
People with fibromyalgia get the same health benefits from exercise as anyone else, and more:
- Increases energy to counteract chronic fatigue
- Helps reduce chronic pain
- Clenching or the involuntary reaction to stress is very common in fibromyalgia patients, according to Dr. Doris Cope who is the director of Pain Management at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Clenching is the tensing of muscles that restricts blood flow to the muscles in turn causing pain. Typically clenching occurs without the person even realizing it’s happening. Combine stress, clenching, and lack of movement and you have a recipe for pain disaster in fibromyalgia. Lying still or remaining sedentary is the worst thing you can do for pain as it just makes it worse, conversely, movement increases blood flow to the muscles to reduce pain.
- Release the body’s natural painkillers – If you have ever heard of the “runner’s high” before, you are aware this is a real phenomenon where the body releases chemicals called endorphins and enkephalins during exercise, which are the body’s own, natural morphine. This causes an improved mood and significant pain relief. Apparently, this phenomenon becomes stronger over time so you will need consistent exercise to enjoy this pain relief.
- Improves joint flexibility
- Maintains bone mass
- Improves balance
- Reduces stress (a major factor in reducing pain)
- Improves sleep
- Builds strength
- Controls weight that in turn reduces pain and its occurrence
- Combats stiffness in the muscles and joints
- Boosts positive mood to combat depression
- Allows for a fuller life and improves quality of life
Getting Started With Exercise
Exercise should be incorporated into a holistic treatment plan, which is preferably monitored by a healthcare professional. Holistic implies a well-rounded treatment regimen of which exercise is a major component.
Movement that increases pulse rate for only 20 minutes, 4 times per week can make a big difference.
Start Slow
If movement is painful, start slow. Chair exercises are easier than those performed while standing. Flexibility exercises are very low impact, and easy stretching improves range of motion. Yoga, short walks, water exercises, or even cycling slowly are good starting points.
Support
It may help to attend a fibromyalgia support group. This will take away the feeling of loneliness while providing you with new friends so you can help motivate one another to stick with a healing exercise program.
Personalize Your Program
People with fibromyalgia often give up on exercise because they fall into a “push-crash” cycle. They push themselves too hard, are injured or overly fatigued, and then stop.
To avoid this cycle, work with your doctor or a physical therapist to design a program around what you can do. Build in rest days. Most importantly, listen to your body and adjust accordingly.
Exercise Should Reduce Pain
Will exercise cause more pain? While some muscle soreness is common after working out, especially in the beginning, ultimately, the goal of exercise is to relive fibromyalgia pain, not make it worse.
Best Exercise Choices
The basic idea with the exercise approach to helping improve fibromyalgia symptoms is to begin with lower-impact exercises such as walking, swimming, light Yoga, and Tai Chi.
Both aerobic and relaxation exercises support the improvement of pain symptoms and improve quality of life, so it’s really best to engage in both.
1| Walking
The Mayo Clinic considers walking the number one form of exercise for people with fibromyalgia. Mainly this is because walking is an aerobic activity that is also low-impact. It delivers oxygen to the muscles, decreases pain, and stiffness.
Walking is the easiest to start with as it is the most basic human movement. The advice from most physicians and physical therapists is to begin with 10 minute daily walks and gently progress up to 30 minutes and eventually to 60 minutes 4 times a week when possible.
Walking helps many fibromyalgia pain points. Areas, which include the knees, shoulders, and the hips, while getting beneficial blood flow to your elbows.
If you find yourself struggling, then walk for a comfortable length and maintain that until you are ready to increase the time.
2| Water Exercise
Water exercise is likely the easiest workout for those who suffer from fibromyalgia pain. It is also ideal for those who are obese or overweight.
- The buoyancy of the water makes movement easier allowing you to do exercises that you might not otherwise be able to do.
- The water allows for zero impact while getting blood flow to the muscles and tendons.
- Warm water is comforting to inflamed joints and muscles.
- Water provides resistance to build strength
Research conducted in Spain found that women who participated in water exercises for only 60 minutes, three times per week for 12 weeks improved their overall wellbeing. They reported improvements in pain and depression.
Most water aerobics and other water exercises classes take place in shallow water so you don’t even have to know how to swim.
Water aerobics and other pool exercise classes can be found at YMCAs, YWCAs and community centers. Physical therapy centers also offer this type of exercises programs and you can hire a personal trainer to come to your pool.
3| Yoga
Yoga, a mind body exercise combines meditation, specific poses, deep breathing and relaxation to help control fibromyalgia symptoms, including pain, depression, anxiety, and poor sleep. Yoga goes beyond these benefits because it improves the overall health of the mind, body, and spirit. In fact, yoga yields more than 100 different physical, mental, and emotional benefits and that as a side effect naturally helps improve fibromyalgia.
The mindfulness practiced in yoga, yields a much-improved awareness between mind and body, so you can become more in touch with what your body is telling you, a key skill when living with chronic pain.
Best Types Of Yoga For Fibromyalgia
Hatha yoga is a gentle style of yoga that helps improve strength and flexibility without putting stress on the joints.
Restorative yoga is highly recommended for fibromyalgia sufferers as it helps transform your brain’s responses to pain to healing responses. It is also the ultimate stress reduction activity. Unlike other styles of yoga, this particular discipline is completely relaxation based thereby void of stretching or excessive movement.
Restorative yoga poses put the mind and body into a state of complete relaxation, and uses gentle poses with conscious breathing to turn on the healing relaxation response inside the body.
The relaxation response is the opposite of the stress response in the body that wreaks havoc and promotes the release of stress hormones that increases inflammation and pain.
One of the major reasons it is so effective, is that poses can be held for long periods of time, exceeding ten minutes if necessary to really bring the body to a complete state of calm and relaxation. Restorative yoga also uses props to make poses much easier for those with pain.
Getting Started With Yoga
Find a yoga class with a teacher experienced in Fibromyalgia to learn the proper way to perform poses. Once learned, yoga poses can be done at home. Additionally, seated yoga positions can be practiced on a chair or the floor making it ideal for those who have difficulty with mobility.
4| Tai Chi
Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong are also excellent forms of mind-body exercise that feature very low impact slow meditative movements proven to have powerful healing effects.
Tai Chi Chuan has its deepest origins in China and the spiritual philosophies of Taoism. You do not have to change your religion or become a Kung-Fu Master to practice Tai Chi. You just have to commit about 30 minutes a day, 4 times a week to perform this powerful meditative healing practice of movement to relive stress, pain and depression.
One study (Wang, et al) published in 2010 found that just 12 weeks of tai chi relieved fibromyalgia symptoms and improved quality of life in participating subjects.
The study compared three subject groups, one practiced Tai Chi, the other received wellness education and the last did only stretching exercises. At the end of the study, subjects who practiced Tai Chi enjoyed marked improvements in their fibromyalgia symptoms. These subjects reported having more energy, better sleep, less pain overall improvements in their mental and physical wellness.
“We definitely saw better results than reported in trials of drug treatments for fibromyalgia,” the studies leader, Dr. Wang reported to WebMD. Only 10% to 20% of patients in the Tai Chi group found it not helpful, while more than 50% were very excited with the exercise as it made them feel better.
Tai Chi is a practical method of treatment for fibromyalgia, particularly when patients either cannot or do not want to move in any other manner.
The interesting advantage of Tai Chi practice is there is nothing strenuous about it. There is no running, hard kicking, punching, sparring, nothing strenuous at all. It is for everyone. This might be the most practical exercise treatment for anyone dealing with fibromyalgia syndrome.
5| Strength Training
Research has shown strength training to not only be safe for those who suffer from fibromyalgia but also very beneficial.
Strength training with resistance bands, light free weights, or even canned food helps make daily activities of life easier, including simple walking, climbing stairs, and chores.
Strength exercises can be done in a variety of different ways, including in a chair. Ask your doctor for recommended exercises.
6| Exercises For The Neck
The back of the neck is one of the major pain points in fibromyalgia. The tender points could be at the base of the skull or where the shoulders meet the neck and anywhere in between. With the neck area, there is also a strong likelihood of referred pain, which means the real area of pain is causing pressure on nerves. This will result in a sensation of pain in a seemingly unrelated area.
The front area of the neck is also strongly related to pain, so the whole neck can become very painful. The muscular points of pain at the front of the neck are the big muscles at the sides of your head called the sternocleidomastoid muscles and they are involved with a wide range of neck movements. This is one of the major reasons fibromyalgia causes such intense neck pain, possibly frequent headaches and sleep problems.
It is useful to do some exercises to stretch and strengthen the neck. These neck exercises are gentle movements done without force.
- Head Tilt: Face directly ahead with your eyes facing forward. Using your right hand for the left side of your head, gently pull your head down to the right as far as is comfortable. Try to hold this for about 20 or 30 seconds. Gently release your head to a balanced position and repeat the same movement to the left. Bring the head back to a balanced position.
- Head Turning: Turn your head as far as you can gently to the right and hold for 20 seconds, bring your head facing evenly forward, then turn your head as far as you can gently to the left for 20 seconds and return facing forward. You may repeat this twice for each side. Some references recommend pushing on the chin, but this is not advised until consulting with a doctor or therapist.
- Dropping The Chin: Do this standing or sitting, but be sure your shoulders are even and your arms hang balanced at your sides. Exhaling, bring your chin to your chest gently and hold for 20 seconds then let the head back up. Repeat as often as comfortable up to four times.
- The Reverse Tilt: Here you have the head tilt done with reverse arm pressure and reverse direction. Move from the back with your arms and gently cup your right arm around so your right hand grasps the lateral portion of your left forehead and pull your head gently backward. Hold this for 20 seconds and then release. Repeat for the other side.
Doing neck exercises on a daily basis helps stretch neck muscles, making them longer and stronger while relieving the pain associated with the fibromyalgia points in the neck and shoulders.
Be sure to consult with your doctor before doing any of these exercises to be sure they are safe for you.
Range Of Motion Exercises
Most people who suffer from fibromyalgia cannot move their joints through their full range of motion. Practicing range of motion exercises can help to reduce stiffness, improve flexibility, and greatly improve movement in daily activities.
Simple flexibility exercises include rotating the arms and legs, while sitting in a chair. In general, your doctor or a physical therapist can help identify which flexibility exercises are best for you.
1| Hatha Yoga: The Perfect Flexibility Exercise
Stretching, when done properly, actually strengthens muscles. Usually, when you see people “stretching,” they are actually pulling on joints and tightening muscles, making matters worse. The advantages of Yoga practice make this virtually impossible.
As previously mentioned, yoga is one of the best forms of exercise for fibromyalgia suffers since it is gentle, low impact and carries a low risk of injury, and injury is something you really cannot afford when you are afflicted with fibromyalgia.
Yoga actually means “balance” in the Sanskrit language. The idea is to use postures and poses to attain ideal balance of the body and health. The practice of yoga is healthfully balanced between stretching and strengthening.
Often, when we think of stretching, we think of it as something, which is separate from exercise. This is a misconception. Actually, stretching and strengthening work together, in tandem and in balance. As muscles grow stronger, they tend to become shortened. Therefore, simply doing push-ups will strengthen the muscles of the chest but it will make them shorter, eventually pulling the shoulders forward.
The ideal exercises to emphasize both stretching and strengthening are Yoga poses. Benefits reach through the full spectrum of fibromyalgia symptoms. Short of a cure, regular practice promotes a noticeable balance in the body and mind.
If you are suffering from fibromyalgia, learn yoga. You can go at your own pace, and see improvements with just a few poses performed regularly each week.
How Much Exercise Do I Need To Do?
Dr. Cope states that movement that increases pulse rate (aerobic activity such as walking or water exercises) for only 20 minutes, 4 times per week can make a big difference in symptoms and quality of life.
The Mayo Clinic also advises regular strength training such as weight training or elastic exercise bands. There are many resources available to help you choose which strength training to work for you. You can use a personal trainer or consult one of the many books and videos on the subject.
If you feel some soreness in the first few days, this is normal lactic acid buildup in muscles you haven’t been using much for a while. Do not give up and see if you can go a little longer each week.
Over time, you should notice consistent improvement in fibromyalgia symptoms. Even if you are prescribed medications to help your symptoms, combining them with a therapeutic exercise routine will make them work more effectively.
Best Practices In Exercise
It is very important to check with your healthcare team before starting any exercise programs.
Every Little Bit Helps
Maybe the idea of exercise still seems overwhelming, or you are just not ready for a full-blown routine. That’s okay. Start slow and work up, even if you just walk a block every day.
Take It Easy
Above all, you do not want to make any strenuous movements a regular practice. This is especially true in the beginning of your exercise program.
Exercise is clearly shown to help improve the condition of fibromyalgia syndrome, sometimes better than any other known treatments. Despite this, there is no good reason to go to extremes. Emphasis is on gentle and progressively developmental movement rather than overdoing.
Start an exercise program with a low-impact cardiovascular workout such as walking. If walking creates too much stress on your muscles or joints, try non-weight-bearing activities like swimming or bicycling.
Get Professional Support
A personal trainer who understands fibromyalgia or a physical therapist is your best choice in learning about the ideal exercises for your particular condition.
These experts can teach you proper exercises, so you will become strong enough to support moving forward with new exercises, as you get better. Follow their advice and ask as many questions as you can.
Walk Regularly
Walking helps with the pain points in the neck, shoulders lower back, knees, and elbows. This is all about body mechanics.
Muscles and joints have a tendency to find a natural balance with natural movements. Walking is one of the most basic movement exercises we can do for all of the pain points involved with fibromyalgia. Even when progressing to more strenuous exercises, walking should become a lifetime practice at least three times weekly.
Be Careful With Your Neck
Check with a physician before engaging in any of the neck exercises mentioned here or otherwise. The neck is a very sensitive area and must be cared for. Get the correct guidance of a healthcare professional before engaging in any neck exercises.
Opt for Movement In Short Bursts
Choose movement whenever possible!
- Park further from the grocery store so you have to walk further to the door
- Take the stairs instead of an elevator
- Do some arm curls with cans of canned food while watching TV
- Walk up the escalator instead of riding
- Move the remote so you have to get up to change the TV channel
- Play a physical game with your kids or grandkids
These are all easy ways to get short bursts of activity throughout the day, which a recent study showed to be very effective for reducing pain and improving mobility in fibromyalgia suffers.
Set Goals
Set goals. Don’t look to the long term, but set short term goals every month and each new month update them to progress from and build on the previous month.
Reward Yourself
When you reach your goals, reward yourself with a massage, an outfit, a movie, or anything that pleases you.
Track Your Progress
Be mindful of and take note of improvements in your symptoms as you exercise. Keep your eyes on the prize, which is always feeling better and a better quality of life even with fibromyalgia.
Stay Motivated To Move
Stay motivated by working out with a friend, and especially one that you meet at a fibromyalgia or chronic pain support group. You will share mutual goals, and being accountable to someone else is one of the best ways to stay motived in exercise.
Final Thoughts
Like it or not, experts confirm that exercise will help significantly with all symptoms of fibromyalgia. It is time to take an active approach towards your own health and well-being.
Find a proper exercise plan for you and improve your condition and quality of life!
Stay well and take care!
