Elliptical machines - helpful after all

“Exercise is a healthy and beneficial treatment for treating fibromyalgia. Using an elliptical machine for exercise helps improve muscle tone, increase blood flow to muscles and decreases pain.” Livestrong.com

 

 An elliptical machine simulates running, gets your heart rate up, but eliminates the pounding pavement making it a low impact exercise.  I must admit I haven’t really liked the elliptical much.  We got one a few years ago for our little home gym and I would use it occasionally.  I much prefer running outside.  I found I got bored quickly inside and didn’t get as much of a workout.  For me, there is just NOTHING like running.  However, lately I have come to enjoy it more and see the practicality of it, both for convenience and my health.  I’ve not been very good about getting out to run the past couple of weeks.  I wanted to keep up with exercise though so if I missed a run, I would hop on the elliptical for 20 minutes.  It keeps me moving, keeps my endurance up, and doesn't cause any joint damage! While it may not be my favorite thing to do, it is a great tool to have to help me stay active.  So if weather is a problem, or kid’s schedules, I can still get a workout in.

 

If you don’t have one at home, think about getting one!  The prices range from under $100 to thousands of dollars depending on durability, features, and brand.  We picked ours up at Walmart for under $400.  It’s a Gold’s Gym elliptical.  Nice because it has a training program built in, cup holder & fan!

This is the newer version of what I have:  walmart.com 

You can often find them used in your area as well.

Here is a review of the best ellipticals for 2012 in different price ranges:  bestellipticalmachines 

 

Here is a good article about starting an exercise routine with fibro from Arthritis Today:  fibromyalgia-exercise

If you have a gym membership, Hop on the elliptical next time you are there and see how you like it!

Refreshed - Swimming

It’s been a rough summer for me.  Started out good with the dry heat, little pain.  Then the monsoons rolled in humidity and barometric pressure rose and I’ve struggled on and off since July.  We don’t have a pool in the backyard, but I love to swim and so do my kids, so we made an effort to get to a pool at least once a week over summer vacation.  I soon started to notice how great I felt in the water.  ZERO pain while in the cool water.  It was wonderful.  And even after swimming I felt good, my muscles were more relaxed.  Refreshed is the word I would use.  As long as we didn’t stay too long that is.  We stayed about 2 ½ - 3 hours when we first started going, and that was too much.  I would get very tired after.  I found though when we stayed 1 – 1 ½ hours, it was very good.  I even had more energy later in the day than normal.

I grew up swimming laps so I decided to give that a try and while I’m no Olympian, I can do about 10 laps without pain.  I will vary up the strokes every few laps so I’m working different muscles and it’s a good workout for me.  I swim very slowly now, and according to Fitness for Weight Loss I probably burn around 500 calories an hour swimming at a leisurely pace.  Better than sitting around on the couch!  And BONUS!  I was spending great quality time with my kiddos making summer memories.

Oh yeah, and there was the day I decided it would be a good idea to take them and their friends to a water park for a day.  6 hours in the sun, walking and swimming.  I’m sure I burned around 4000 calories that day, hee hee.  I had to rest for 3 days after that!

I have heard from others with fibro that swimming in the cool ocean has the same effect of taking pain away.  We haven’t made it to the beach yet this summer, but maybe we can work something out before it gets cool and I can see another sunset on the west coast.  I’ll let you know how the Pacific Ocean feels.

Now that school has started, the pools are closing and I won’t be able to get in the water as often.  Thankfully I have a few friends that have offered their pools to me anytime I need it.  It’s good to have such caring friends.  The weather will still be warm well into September so hopefully I will get to swim awhile longer.

I’ve even thought about joining a gym with a pool (and childcare) but actually getting to the gym on a regular basis is tough for me.  I much prefer to work out at home.  I may try it for a season though. Maybe take a mild water aerobics class to get some more exercise  in.

Have you had a chance to get in the water this summer?  Have you found it refreshing?

Yin Inspired Yoga – Deep Stretching for Connective Tissue

I have heard about how great Yoga is for people with fibromyalgia.  Good muscle stretching sounds like a great idea.  I had done some Yoga before I had fibro, taken a few classes from my best friend who is a wonderful Christian Yoga instructor, and I did the P90X program for a summer that included a tough Yoga workout, but I was far from being a yogi.

A couple months after I found out I had fibro, I was ready to do something to try and feel better.  So I went to a Yoga class (a class geared towards more advanced students and instructors!  OOOPS!).  I hadn’t exercised AT ALL since I quit running four months earlier.  There was my first mistake.  My second mistake was thinking I could still push myself like I could before fibromyalgia.  I did the whole 1 hour class.  Sure it was hard, but I didn’t feel too much pain, so I kept going.  My muscles were tight and I started to feel a little off, fuzzy head, but I brushed away the thoughts and went to lunch.  About an hour later I was driving home and started to sob.  I don’t know where the emotion came from but it felt awful and all consuming.  I just cried and cried.  Made it home and fell onto the couch in horrible pain.  I was upset because of what I had done to myself and I grieved for the person I was before.  I knew then that my life really was going to be very different.  I had to rest for the next few days as my muscles recovered, from what felt like a marathon I wasn't prepared to run, and thought I would never do Yoga again.   But I did try again, I took it very slow and modified every move to what I could do.  This is when having a Yoga instructor for a best friend comes in handy.  She recommends Gentle Yoga, Beginning or Aerial Yoga or Restorative Yoga is good for aching bodies.

Ok, let’s get to it.  Yin inspired Yoga.  I ran across this online somewhere and asked my BFF about it.  She was excited to tell me that a variation of this type of Yoga would be great for people with fibromyalgia!  Why?  Well, here is the definition according to Three Trees Yoga:

“Yin is a simple, quiet practice that explores the connective tissue and joints of the body. The major differences between a yin and a traditional yoga practice are that yin postures are passive and done with the muscles relaxed. The poses are held on the floor, for a length of time. This is because connective tissue does not stretch like muscle and does not respond well to brief stresses. The focus of Yin Yoga, then, is to keep the joints and connective tissues of the body mobile. The regular practice of Yin yoga frees areas of chronic tightness primarily in the hips, legs, and lower back.”

Well that sounded fantastic!  Especially because fibromyalgia pain is thought to be largely in the connective tissue.  Yin is a specific set of 25 poses or “asanas” that must be done in order.  You hold each pose 3-5 minutes (10 minutes for some!) so it is a long intense practice and should be done just once a week.  I was no where near ready for that, so my wonderful friend came over one day and taught me 9 poses.  We started with just 2 minutes each and I’ve been adding time to each pose ever since.  Here is what she taught me, click on each asana for more instructions and information from www.yinyoga.com.

Remember, they must be done IN ORDER.

1.       Melting Heart – 3-5 min

2.       Butterfly – 3-5 min

3.       Camel – 1-2min

4.       Cat Pulling It’s Tail – 3-5 min each side

5.       Caterpillar – 3-5 min

6.       Dangling – 2min

7.       Deer – 3-5 min each side

8.       Dragons – 3-5 min each side

9.       Straddle – 3-10 min

I do have difficulty with some of these.  I have tender points on my outer thighs and sitting on them for even a short amount of time is painful.   Not only that, I am also am very inflexible (scoliosis and short hamstrings) so I will never be able to fully do the poses.  I just relax and do what I can.  My friend showed me how to use blankets and bolsters for support.  Some of the poses work your back, so if you find it getting stiff like I did, my friend suggested adding
Child’s Pose in between as needed.

Always check with your Dr. before beginning any exercise routine.  It is very beneficial to have someone show you how to do each pose correctly.  Check out classes in your area!


***Thanks to Christy Parker for all of her wisdom, support and patience!  Christy is not only a Certified Yoga Instructor and Certified Christian Yoga Instructor, but an Instructor in Krav Maga AND has a wonderful blog about natural skin care, home improvement DIY's and more!  Check her out at journeytopowerhousediydarling.blogspot.com

Running – It’s What I Love

I quit running back in September 2011 because of the horrible pain I was experiencing at the time.  This was before I went to see my Dr. and learned I have fibromyalgia.  I was never a great runner, but I loved it.  I had only started a few years before and worked my way up to running a few 5K races with an ultimate goal of doing a ½ marathon someday.  The Tinkerbell ½ Marathon at Disneyland to be exact.  A lot of my pain in the beginning was joint pain, in my feet, knees and hips.  I was stiff in the mornings and so very sore in the evenings I could barely walk.  When I did see my Dr. in November, he confirmed that I should not be running.  Walking instead would be best.  But when I went to see a Rheumatologist for a 2^nd opinion she suggested that I continue to do what I loved, just start slow, build up very slow, pace myself, and listen to my body so I don’t overdo it.  It turned out a lot of my foot/leg pain was Plantar Fasciitis, and I was able to get that under control by learning some stretches and wearing good supportive shoes all the time (very hard for this flip-flop or barefoot girl!  Thanks to my sister-in-law who also deals with this, I was able to find some pretty cute supportive flip-flops by Orthaheel) It took me a few months to try running again.  I wanted to focus on healing my body a bit.

When I first began running I followed the Couch 2 5K Running Plan from coolrunning.  It is a very mild approach of walking/running and building up slowly to avoid injury over 9 weeks.  I loved the program, so I figured I would try it again.  It turned out that trying to run 3 days a week was too much, so I dropped it down to 2.  I have learned a lot about energy management, and for me, this is what I can handle.  I also believe the supplements I have been taking have helped with my energy and opened up more of my day to be able to exercise.  I have to run on days when I don’t have anything else going on, to give myself plenty of time to rest and recover.  Sometimes I have overdone it and suffered for a couple of days after with pain and fatigue.

This was one thing that was worth it to me to try and get back from my life before fibro.  I missed the quiet prayer time with just me and God (and usually my little one ridding in the stroller).  Getting out in nature (well, suburban nature) and feeling the sun on my skin.  It’s always been a great stress reliever for me, and given me a goal to work towards.  So once again I have set that goal of running the Tinkerbell ½ marathon someday.  Currently I am on week 7 of the C25K program although I have been running for 10 weeks now.  I feel great over all.  It has helped with energy, motivation, stress relief and more!

I want to point out that I am NOT telling you to go out and run.  This may not be right for you.  I also understand that I may not be able to do this forever.  You should seek advice from your Dr. about what type of exercise is best for you.  Start slow and build up slowly.  The normal recommendations for people with fibro are
low impact; walking, yoga and aqua therapy.  Even with those
you must build up slowly.

It takes time! 

What do you do for exercise?

Priorities - Where Does Fibromyalgia Fit?

It sure takes a lot of time and effort to revamp your life.  Lots of reading, studying, testing and practicing.  I feel sometimes like this is a new job.  I guess it is.  I have spent hours and hours reading, and talking with others who are living with fibromyalgia, trying to find what God leads me to put into practice in my own life as steps towards healing.  This can quickly take over your whole life,  putting God and family responsibilities on the back-burner!  I KNOW that is not what God wants for me, so where does getting healthy fit into my priorities?

Here is an illustration that shows the Circles of Priority for a Christian Adult according to
Bearing Fruit in God's Family by NavPress:

After talking about this with my husband we came up with the idea that for me, fibro should fall between “Work” (I should point out that "Work" does not necessarily mean a paying job) and “Other."  We’ll call it “Self/Health,” not “selfishness,”  but “Self/Health.”  This is the place to work on getting healthy.  My list for “Self/Health” would include; 

-reading/research on my illness

-healthy eating

-supplements

-exercise (which for me includes lots of prayer time & scripture meditation)

-Dr. appointments

-resting (which could lead back to God)

-blogging (which could also be helping others)

Maybe you would add massage, chiropractor or acupuncture.  Whatever you do that surrounds your illness and healing.  All of these are important and have a place on our priority list.   Here is my new visual which you can grab, print & customize with your own priorities:

 

Certainly there are times in people’s lives where health needs to be moved up on the list.  If you are hospitalized, or going through something like Cancer, your priorities may look different for a season.  When your illness has you so down (physically or emotionally) that you can no longer do the things on your priority list, that is a problem that needs to be addressed.  You should seek help to get things under control.

As I spoke about in a previous post, Job - Help for the Hurting, God allows things to happen in our lives for the purpose of bringing us closer to Him.  Don’t let anything get in the way of that relationship!

My point is this.  Let’s not let fibromyalgia (or whatever illness you have) take over our lives to the point where we are ineffective Christians.

Let’s put it in its place.

Good Read – Educate Me!

I love to read and I’m really picky about what I spend my time on.  I don’t trust just anything, so it was hard for me to choose my first book about fibromyalgia.  I searched, asked in groups, read reviews, and settled on Figuring out Fibromyalgia by Ginevra Liptan M.D.

I bought it on my Kindle from Amazon for $9.99 so I could start reading right away & was very happy with my choice.  Dr. Liptan developed fibromyalgia herself while she was in medical school and has spent her time in practice with fibro patients.

She is the Medical Director of “The Frida Center” in Oregon, where they treat and educate about fibromyalgia.  So I felt like I could believe her.

I like that the book has very current information, published in April 2011.  I also appreciate how fibro is explained.  I really had no knowledge as to what was happening to my body and this book helped educate me to where I can now even explain it to others.  It made perfect sense!  Not only does Dr. Liptan explain the syndrome, but she talks about causes, and then treatment.  The treatments suggested aren’t just “take this prescription”, but really talk about healing your body.  Just what I was hoping for!  Direction!

The 5 main treatments recommended are:

diet

exercise

sleep

manual therapy (myofascial massage)

reducing the “fight or flight response” (stress)

She also reviews treatments such as supplements and prescriptions, and includes a chapter on alternative treatments that may or may not be worth your time/money (cleansing & detoxifying, acupuncture, magnets, microcurrent therapy, cold laser therapy, bodywork, vitamins, minerals, supplements, hormones, etc.).

I haven’t taken all of the advice, some things are expensive and seemed out of reach (like specific food allergy blood testing), but for me it was a place to start.  I know that God is leading me to become a healthier person and treat my body better.  "Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God."  2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT.  This book is a great guide.  I started by deciding to focus on the 5 main treatments and add the few supplements she suggested.  I dedicated a week for each one and read and studied and practiced.  I’m not there yet, after 6 months I’m still working at it (diet has been tricky and to be honest I haven't done anything with Myofascial massage), but I can tell you I have had a GREAT improvement in my symptoms.  I have gone from living every day in pain and in a fog, to having good days and bad days and have a greater understanding of what is going on inside.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone who has fibromyalgia, or wants to understand it better.

Get it.

Read it.

Do it!