Multiple studies have shown that exercise is absolutely essential for people with fibromyalgia and other types of chronic pain. The trick is finding the amount of exercise you can do each day without throwing yourself into a full blown flare. A little bit of pain or discomfort in the muscles during or after exercise is ok, but it’s hard to know how much is too much. So I always tell my patients (and myself!) to start with a quarter of what you think you can or should be able to do. Then track how you feel for the rest of the day and the next day in your pain journal. If you’re a little sore do the same amount again. If you’re REALLY sore skip a day, and the next day do half what you did the first time. If you go into a flare skip 2 days, and then only do a quarter of what you did the first time. If you follow these general guidelines you’ll be able to discover the amount of exercise you can do. Be patient- if you haven’t exercised in a long time it will take time to build up stamina again. But we absolutely must find an exercise routine that we can tolerate every day in order to prevent getting weaker and weaker- even with fibro our muscles are able to get stronger and stronger. Go into training to fight fibro! (But not without clearance from your medical provider first!)
