by Tess Boardman

Created on: June 04, 2009

Living with fibromyalgia is a daily challenge. Many sufferers have heard from their medical providers that exercise is an important component to lessening the effects of chronic pain and fatigue. Medications help, but some have an unwanted side effect of weight gain and exercise is critical to maintaining a healthy weight. However, fibromyalgia sufferers have unique challenges to overcome that pose barriers to maintaining a regular exercise regimen.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread body pain, fatigue, and mental fog. It is a commonly misunderstood syndrome, even by experienced practitioners. People who have been diagnosed are often told they just need to stretch, exercise, and keep moving. Yet this simple advice is hard to follow.

For many, the difficulty comes from the inability to know what will cause pain the next day and beyond. The same routine done successfully for a week may suddenly flare up pain symptoms, causing the patient to stop exercising altogether. Sufferers tire of hearing they need to push through their pain symptoms and keep on track. Pushing through the pain is part of the daily routine in ordinary tasks. However, a change in standard exercise expectations can assist in maintaining exercise as part of living with chronic pain.

Go slow This applies to beginning and maintaining a program. Even if you have been athletic prior to the onset of fibromyalgia, you have to start over and relearn what your body can tolerate. Once you find a baseline, do not be worried if you have to lower goals occasionally to accommodate a flare up in pain and fatigue symptoms.

Go light Light exercise is best for fibromyalgia. Your workout does not have to be a workout. Light yoga routines coupled with one-pound hand and ankle weights can give a great deal of benefit without to much strain. Aerobic exercise is the hardest element to incorporate into a fibro plan. If you can make it to the local pool, swimming is a great option.

Go backwards So you could touch your toes yesterday and can barely bend over today. That's okay. Stretch only as far as you can, even if it is less than the day before. Pushing yourself too hard and too far can cause days of unwanted pain.

Go virtual Wii Fit gives a great way for fibromyalgia sufferers to exercise without the expectations of other programs. The innovative game allows the user to start very light, track their individual progress, and actually see if they are performing the exercise correctly. A variety of games help improve balance, core muscle function, and aerobic ability.

Just go from the bed to the kitchen. The mental game is a big component of fibromyalgia. Daily mental effort is given over to managing pain symptoms and sometimes it is all right to just get up and celebrate that accomplishment. Vacuuming, laundry and other household chores are part of your exercise routine.

Living with fibromyalgia is hard, but your workout doesn't have to be. Movement is essential to feeling better. Not only is starting light key, so is keeping it light. Fibromyalgia requires many lifestyle changes and your body is your best guide.

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