Potsdam Fibromyalgia Support group

Newsletter

February, 2003

Fibromyalgia Support Group Table at the Massena Health Fair!

Stop by the FMSG table at the March 29-30 Massena Health Fair at the Massena Mall. Better yet, help out at the table for a while – every hour a Support Group member is at the table helps us educate people about FMS. Past health fairs have been very successful and people have really appreciated our efforts. If you can help in any way, call Debbie Wells at 384-4582 or email her at klw1@localnet.com (that’s k-el-w-one).

 

Starting an Exercise Program

Many people with FMS have heard that they should exercise, but are afraid to start for fear of aggravating their pain. The following guidelines, based on the current FMS research literature, may help you better understand how and when to incorporate exercise into your self-care routine.

Before you start:

Ø      Determine how much of your pain is due to true FMS and how much is due to myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). (See Dr. Starlanyl’s web site at http://www.sover.net/~devstar/ for more information about the difference). If you have active trigger points, you should address these before you use those muscles for repetitive exercise. Heat and gentle stretching work best for relieving trigger points.

Ø      Find out if you have any other musculoskeletal conditions that affect your ability to exercise. People with FMS may have tendonitis in the shoulders or arms, may have intervertebral disc injuries or arthritis in one or more joints.

Ø      If you have other medical conditions, ask your physician or physical therapist about additional precautions before starting new exercises. Common problems to check for include heart conditions, diabetes, and orthostatic hypotension (low blood pressure that affects you when you stand up). Find out whether there are any types of exercise you should avoid because of your non-FMS problems.

Ø      Start with an easy exercise program, so that your body can get used to it. Most people with FMS become deconditioned because pain has limited their activity. If you do too much exercise too quickly, you may trigger a flare. This can set you back both physically and psychologically.

Ø      If you choose walking as your preferred form of exercise, make sure you have good walking shoes.

Selecting the right exercises

Ø      Pick exercises or activities that you enjoy so that you can stay motivated.

Ø      Exercise with someone else to distract you from the exercise and to keep you motivated.

Ø      If you, like many people with FMS, have a balance problem, select exercises that do not put you at risk for falling.

Ø      Start your exercise session with a gentle warm up to prepare your body for exercise. The warm up may be several minutes of gentle aerobic exercise. If you are too deconditioned to use exercise as your warm up, a warm bath is almost as good.

Ø      End with a cool down to minimize injury, muscle spasm, and delayed onset pain. The cool down might be a few more minutes of gentle aerobic activity and stretching exercises.

Ø      A balanced program will include all three types of exercise: aerobic, strengthening and stretching.

·         Aerobic exercise will improve your endurance, increase your energy level and mood. Walking (on land or in water), swimming, biking and dancing are all aerobic exercises.

·         Strengthening exercise will increase your ability to do functional activities. Strengthening generally involves lifting weights or pulling against resistance, but sometimes the weight of your limb is adequate resistance. Avoid overhead strengthening exercises.

·         Stretching exercise will relieve muscle spasm and improve your flexibility. Stretches should be done gently and held for 30 seconds to allow the muscle to relax.

Ø      Some people with FMS benefit from balance exercises. If you have fewer falls or near-falls, you place less stress on your body.

Ø      Relaxation ‘exercises’ may not increase your strength or endurance, but they can decrease pain. Often these include deep breathing or imagery.

How do you start?:

Ø      Don’t start an exercise program during an acute flare. Try to get your FMS stabilized with sleep hygiene, medications, or other treatments.

Ø      If you are severely deconditioned (out of shape) then start your aerobic conditioning with short bouts of exercise. You can even start with one 3-minute session per day and gradually increase to two then three 3-minute sessions per day. When that is easier, gradually increase the time.

Ø      Strength training can begin using just gravity and can increase to 1 or 2 pounds as it becomes easier.

Ø      Stretching exercises can relieve muscle spasm, but work best after the muscles have been warmed up with either heat or gentle aerobic exercise.

Tips for Exercising:

Ø      Work your way up to 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise each day. You can do your aerobic exercise in blocks of 10-20 minutes each.

Ø      If you are doing well with your aerobic exercise, you can increase the time 10% every 3-6 sessions

Ø      During aerobic exercise, you should be able to talk (i.e., you shouldn’t be out of breath) but should not be able to sing.

Ø      When doing strengthening exercise, move slowly and pause for 5-10 seconds between each repetition. This helps the muscles relax between uses.

Ø      Allow at least 48 hours between strengthening sessions to give your muscles a chance to recover and increase in strength.

Ø      Do 8-12 repetitions of a strengthening exercise. When you can do 12 repetitions for three consecutive sessions, increase the weight and decrease the number of repetitions back down to 8.

Ø      Hold stretches for 30 seconds. Don’t bounce as this is more likely to increase muscle spasm.

Ø      If you have increased pain or fatigue lasting more than 24 hrs, you may have done too much exercise.

Ø     Ideally, you should feel slightly invigorated after you exercise. This is due to improved circulation and release of endorphins, which are your natural pain-killers.

 

February 27th Potsdam Meeting

How does diet affect your FMS symptoms? This will be a short presentation of several diets recommended for FMS, followed by a discussion of support group members’ personal experience with diet. The meeting is at 7 pm in Clarkson Hall at 59 Main St, Potsdam.

 

Should We Change the Potsdam Support Group Meeting Time?

Would you like the Potsdam Support Group to meet at 6 or 6:30 instead of 7 pm? If you support the change in time but can’t make it to the next meeting to vote, call Debbie Wells at 384-4582 or email her at klw1@localnet.com (that’s k-el-w-one).

 

 

v      If you would prefer to receive these newsletters electronically (and save a few trees), please send your email address to gilberta@clarkson.edu.

v     
If you would like to be removed from the FMSG mailing list, please contact us at the above email or by phone at 261-5460.

March 11th Massena Support Group Meeting

Part of the Support Group’s mission is educating the community about FMS. We have two opportunities to do this in the near future: the Massena Health Fair in March and Fibromyalgia Awareness Day in May. This meeting will be a discussion of what people with FMS want to know about their condition and what we would like the public to know about FMS.

 

The Last Laugh

      A FMS patient shared this:

Most of us have now learned to live with voice mail as a necessary part of our lives. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if God decided to install voice mail? Imagine praying and hearing the following:

v      Thank you for calling heaven.

For English, press 1

For Spanish, press 2

For all other languages, press 3.

v      Please select one of the following options:

Press 1 for request

Press 2 for thanksgiving

Press 3 for complaints

Press 4 for all others.

v      I am sorry, all our Angels and Saints are busy helping other sinners right now. However, your prayer is important to us and we will answer it in the order it was received. Please stay on the line.

v      If you would like to speak to:

God, press 1

Jesus, press 2

Holy spirit, press 3.

v      To find a loved one that has been assigned to heaven press 5, then enter his social security # followed by the pound sign. (If you receive a negative response, please hang up and dial area code 666).

v      For reservations to heaven, please enter JOHN followed by the numbers 316.

v      For answers to nagging questions about dinosaurs, life and other planets, please wait until you arrive in heaven for the specifics.

v      Our computers show that you have already been prayed for today, please hang up and call again tomorrow.

The office is now closed for the weekend to observe a religious holiday. If you are calling after hours and need emergency assistance, please contact your local pastor.