The benefits of exercise

ifranz Living With It I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in May 2007, the symptoms... Send Message Subscribe: ifranz

Monday, August 18, 2008
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I was diagnosed with RA about a year ago. I was an avid runner and triathlete through my 20s and early 30s. Now at 40 I've been away from any serious training for a few years and I've added a few extra pounds. The first six months with my RA diagnosis hit me pretty har...

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I was never athletic but running would kill me
Kelley
Monday, August 18, 2008 at 09:27 PM

Hi there,

My rheumy is very conservative in how she feels on exercise. Low impact, like tai chi. I do have one of those cheezy gazelle exercise machines but actually it has worked quite well. It does make me feel better to exercise, I just have to learn when to say enough is enough. That is my biggest problem, not quitting before it's too late and the damage is done. I curse myself each time for doing too much, whether it be exercising on that funny machine or housework. I never even know how much is too much. I lost a bunch of weight and brought in some pictures out of a magazine for stomach toning. My rheumy took one look at them and said, NO. no hesitation. My lower back and those joints down there are one of my worst areas. I guess she doesn't want me in a wheelchair.

If you could give me some tips that don't jeopardize the RA, I'd be more than grateful.

Warm Regards,

Kelley

re: I was never athletic but running would kill me
ifranz
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 02:40 PM

Kelly,

I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on tv ☺ I don’t think I’m qualified to recommend any specific exercise but I can share what I’ve done to establish my own exercise plan.

I’d recommend staying proactive with your treatment. Every time I visit my doc I have a list of questions about my specific symptoms and I ask what else I can do to help with treatment. I think its lead to more detailed information about RA in the discussions. It’s also lead to my doc prescribing therapeutic massage (getting my insurance to pay for it will be another battle, but I’m willing to fight) and a session with a pt to help me develop a more ra specific workout. I don’t think these things would have happened if I wasn’t persistent with the “what else can I do?” questions.

Being proactive also gives me a sense of control over the RA, I feel like I’m doing something and not surrendering to the symptoms. I was really depressed when I was first diagnosed.

You mentioned that you tended to overdo things a bit with exercise and other physical activity; journaling might help by logging your activity to see if you notice any trends with your RA. Share the info with your doc and develop a plan for exercise on days when you’re able to.

Take care,

Franz

re: I was never athletic but running would kill me
Christine Miller
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 01:06 PM

Kelley,

I agree with everything Franz has said. Franz- thanks for the great suggestions. Just to add on to that, I would recommend asking any PT/OT or physicial trainer that you work with if they have experience working with people with RA. Many PT clinics tend to specialize in sports medicine instead of chronic musculoskeletal diseases like ours. I have permanent muscle contractures in my elbows and these sports med PT's and regular physical trainers at my gym have had no clue how to deal with it. Being a former occupational therapist, I ended up teaching them about RA and what I can and can't do. So I kept hunting until I found a therpist who was knowledgable about RA exercise and contraindications.

I'm a fan of tai chi and also yoga and pilates for strength and flexibility. My elbow and wrist issues make it hard to sustain some of the yoga and pilates positions, but the instructors always have suggestions for modifying the positions to make them doable. I also advocate swimming. Contrary to popular myth, swimming is a weight bearing activity becaus you're working against the force of the water. Swimming laps, doing water aerobics or even water walking are all great exercise and they shouldn't hurt your back. I swim laps, three different strokes to work different muscles and have worked my way up to swimming 1.5 miles in an hour. I daydream about competing in open water swimming someday. :o)

Christine

thank you for sharing
spirithere54
Saturday, August 23, 2008 at 06:23 PM

I am still some what in the dark about this disease and the impact on my body in the past year. I have been diagnosed with RA just in the past couple of months and am learning about this disease by reading and now joining this community.

I use to be pretty active and some of the symptoms seemed to come on gradual although I wonder at times if I have had this illness for a long time.

In 1992 my activity level changed because of another reason and than in 1998 I was in an auto accident and I was doing less.

Since 2003 I have wondered why I was limited of doing things that were so easy before and just took it as not being physically fit and needed to work out more and since I was a cigarette smoker and had emotional problems that kept me in my house for a few months every year I blamed my life style for all my limitations.

Last year in 1007 I feel I was hit with a rock having heart and lung issues and now this year being diagnosed with RA.

Im not happy to have ill health but having a diagnosis of WHY has helped me.

I been trying to be active most every day (not like I want to be or was 10 years or less) and I notice moving my muscles help me from being worse off .

What troubles me is that I am not able to keep up with stamina. What I may accomplish today I need to rest or recuperate the next day. I am hoping with more knowledge and help from professionals that I will go forward like you.

Thank you for your post.

Spirithere54