Ads by Google

Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia
Stretching

Brad Walker explains how to use gentle aerobics and stretching

exercisestoreducethepainofFibromyalgia.

TOPICS

Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) are thought by many to be

separate manifestations of the same disorder, the main difference being the
major symptom associated with each of the disorders

A-Z Page Index

Article Library
Anatomy & Physiology
Coaching
Fitness Development
Fitness Testing
Nutrition
Planning
Programs
Psychology
Sports
Sport Development
Sports Injury
Sports Merchandise

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder in which the sufferer complains of severe

pain throughout their body. This pain can affect the muscles, joints and soft
tissues i.e. tendons and ligaments, to the extent that any movement is a
struggle. This particular disorder affects the female gender in 90% of cases
and is commonly diagnosed between the ages of 25 and 40 although the
symptoms can begin to show at any age. Other symptoms that are used to
diagnose fibromyalgia include:

Track & Field

Training Aids
Website Blog
Website Information
Web Links

TEXTTRANSLATOR

Select Language
Powered by

Translate

Ads by Google

Stretching
Leg Muscle Pain

SITESEARCHFACILITY

Custom Search

Search BRIANMAC

Tenderness in 11 of the 18 pre-determined sensitive spots of the body

Chronic fatigue
Sleep disorders
Headaches
Stiffness of the joints

Many individuals diagnosed with the condition suffer with all or the vast
majority of these symptoms however because fibromyalgia is a relatively new
disorder many physicians mistake it for other, more common disorders. One
such disorder is CFS.
CFS is another life long illness that is characterized by the above symptoms
however in this case the major diagnostic symptom is fatigue, as apposed to
widespread pain. The fatigue associated with the condition is often debilitating
and is described by many as like "having concrete arms and legs." Muscle and
joint pain is also common in CFS and so it is understandable that many
experts get the two disorders confused.
The cause of fibromyalgia and CFS is still unknown although many research
papers commonly refer to four possible aetiologies:
Toxicity - due to long term exposure to chemicals, pesticides,
insecticides etc.
Traumatic experiences and lifelong stress, possibly from a pre-existing
medical condition or illness.
Genetic susceptibility.
Immunological breakdown - due to prior bacterial or viral infection.
Whatever the underlying causes of the two disorders they are both as yet
incurable and so treatment and management of the symptoms is seen as the
key to relief. Surprisingly exercise has been found to be very beneficial with
regards to reducing the pain and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia and CFS
and so a regular exercise regimen needs to be tailored to each individual
sufferers needs.

Precautions,LimitationsandDangers
As with any exercise plan, an exercise plan for people diagnosed with
fibromyalgia or CFS needs to cater for the individual's level of fitness, mobility
and experience. Extra precautions need to be taken to allow for the persons
disability and so only certain types of exercise should be included.
Because many of the joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons will be affected
by fibromyalgia and CFS only low impact or non-impact exercise routines
should be practiced. This acts to reduce any additional stress that would
normally be placed on already tender and painful spots.
Ads by Google

Muscle Treatment
For Joint Pain

Each case of fibromyalgia is different i.e. one person may only have pain in
their leg muscles and joints whereas a second person may have all over pain,
and this will inevitably affect the type and intensity of the exercises
performed. All people with fibromyalgia or CFS should know their limitations
and should thus try to stick to exercises that they know won't exacerbate their
main symptoms.
Over exercising will often cause pain and soreness in even the healthiest of
people and so in those already suffering with chronic pain, the intensity can
effectively double making any subsequent movements absolute torture. It is
important for sufferers of fibromyalgia and CFS to increase their levels of
exercise very slowly and only push themselves as far as is comfortable. By
overexerting themselves and causing their pain to become more intense,
many sufferers of fibromyalgia will enter a period in which they refrain from
all activity and effectively become inactive. This then causes de-conditioning
and as a consequence, more pain.
Individuals diagnosed with either fibromyalgia or CFS need to break the above
cycle by becoming active and keeping their bodies conditioned and strong.

TheBestTypeofExerciseforFibromyalgiaandCFS
Non-impact and low impact aerobic exercise has been found to be very
beneficial for sufferers of fibromyalgia and CFS. The cardiovascular training
involved with aerobic exercise has been shown to significantly reduce the
degree of pain and stiffness experienced by sufferers.

LightAerobics
For those who can manage it, low impact aerobics sessions, which can include
activities such as brisk walking, cycling, using a Stairmaster etc. can be very
good for reducing all levels of pain. Aerobic exercise should be performed for
around 30 minutes per day, 3-4 time per week for it to have a significant
effect however it is very important not to rush into things and stress the
muscles and joints unnecessarily.
It is advised that people with fibromyalgia or CFS start with a simple 5 minute
walk and build up gradually until they reach the 30 minute target. Preexercise stretching is also highly recommended as this helps to make the
exercise session more comfortable and reduces the risk of injury. Regular
stretching will also help with posture and flexibility while reducing the amount
of muscle and joint stiffness experienced during and after the workout.

AquaAerobics
Water makes the body weightless and so any form of swimming or aerobic
activity in water greatly benefits people with painful muscles and joints. This
non-impact form of exercise takes all of the strain off the joints meaning that
for a time they don't have to bear the weight of the body. This is perfect for

fibromyalgia sufferers with very tender body areas who get excruciating
waves of pain with every jolt. It is important however that the swimming
water is warm because cold water can cause the muscles and joints to seize
up and become infinitely more painful.

StretchingExercises
Apart from the pre-exercise stretching that will be discussed in more detail as
part of the following section; there are a number of exercise forms that
involve specific types of stretching. Stretching, as it relates to physical health
and fitness, is the process of placing particular parts of the body into a
position that will lengthen the muscles and associated soft tissues. Stretching
is a simple and effective activity that helps to enhance athletic performance,
decrease the likelihood of injury and minimize muscle and joint soreness.
Stretching can be practiced in the privacy of the home or at the gym where a
qualified instructor can demonstrate the correct way to stretch so that the
maximum benefit is achieved. As with most activities there are rules and
guidelines to ensure that they are safe. Stretching is no exception. Stretching
can be extremely dangerous and harmful if done incorrectly. It is vitally
important that the following guidelines be adhered to, both for safety and for
maximizing the potential benefits of stretching.

StretchingGuidelines
It is incredibly important to stretch correctly as an incorrect stretch can do
more harm than good, especially with regards to a fibromyalgia sufferer.
There are five main things to remember when stretching which will help to
keep the body in great shape and injury free.

1.Warmupthemusclespriortostretching
Cold muscles can injure very easily and so it is vitally important to warm up
the body before strenuous stretching and before an exercise session. Bringing
the body's core temperature up by performing a warm-up will ultimately
increase the temperature of the muscles, so making them more supple and
loose i.e. in the condition needed to stretch safely.
A warm up will also act to increase the heart rate and therefore the blood flow
and nutrients reaching the muscles. As the breathing rate also increases, the
amount of essential oxygen reaching the muscles rises dramatically, again
creating the perfect internal environment for safe stretching.
A safe warm up for a fibromyalgia or a CFS sufferer might consist of a brisk
walk or a short swim. The warm up should not last more than 10 minutes and
it shouldn't be overly strenuous, especially if the individual's level of fitness is
relatively low or severe pain is experienced.

2.Stretchslowlywithgentlemovements
Slow gentle stretching helps to relax the muscles of the body, which is often
highly beneficial to the fibromyalgia sufferer. Jerky movements or overstretching can lead to increased pain, muscle strain and even muscle tears
and so all stretches should be done as if in slow motion and as smoothly as
possible.

3.Stretchonlyasfarasiscomfortable
Over stretching is one of the major causes of muscle strains and tears and so
it is important that individual muscles are only stretched as far as is
comfortable. The idea of stretching is to relax the muscles and make the body
generally more flexible which, in the case of fibromyalgia and CFS, can reduce
the amount of pain felt in specific areas of the body. Over stretching a muscle
can cause the tendons and ligaments attached to the muscle to spontaneously
contract and this can cause major problems if the stretch is then forced
beyond the comfort level. Stretching should never be painful and if it is then it
is a sure bet that the muscle concerned is being greatly over stretched.

4.Controlofbreathingwhilestretching
It is important to concentrate on breathing while stretching as many
individuals have a tendency to hold their breath and often they don't even
realize they are doing it. Unfortunately holding the breath can cause the
muscles to tense up and trying to stretch tensed muscles will, more often than
not, lead to injury, especially in fibromyalgia sufferers who already have tense
and painful muscles. Holding the breath also limits the amount of oxygen and
nutrients reaching the muscles and if this anaerobic state continues for any

significant length of time, the muscles will build up lactic acid and become
highly painful, which is the opposite of what stretching is supposed to achieve.

5.Stretchingcorrectly
Each stretch should ideally be held for around 30 seconds for the maximum
beneficial effect. Anything less than this will not provide a sufficient length of
time for the muscle to relax and lengthen. In addition each muscle group
needs to be stretched two or three times in rotation and this is considered the
bare minimum. Fibromyalgia sufferers may initially have trouble stretching to
this extent and so should only stretch until they begin to feel uncomfortable.
Any form of stretching is better than no stretching at all and so even a few
minutes is worth doing.
People diagnosed with fibromyalgia or CFS will benefit from stretching on a
daily basis but it is vitally important that they don't overexert themselves on a
particular day as the following day may be more painful than the person can
bare, in which case the beneficial cycle will be broken i.e. the pain causes
inactivity which continues for a number of days or even weeks and this
eventually causes even more pain.

UltimateGuidetoStretching&Flexibility
While the recommendations on this page are a good starting point, you'll get a
lot more benefit when you include a wider variety of exercises. So to improve
your athletic ability, reduce injuries and really take advantage of all the
stretching exercises on offer, grab a copy of the Ultimate Guide to Stretching
& Flexibility (Handbook, DVD & CD-ROM).

PageReference
If you quote information from this page in your work then the reference for
this page is:
WALKER, B. (2013) Fibromyalgia [WWW] Available from:
https://www.brianmac.co.uk/articles/article150.htm [Accessed
2/11/2016]

AbouttheAuthor
Brad Walker is a prominent Australian sports trainer with more than 15 years
experience in the health and fitness industry. Brad is a Health Science
graduate of the University of New England and has postgraduate
accreditations in athletics, swimming and triathlon coaching. He also works
with elite level and world champion athletes and lectures for Sports Medicine
Australia on injury prevention. Brad can be contacted via his website at
injuryfix.com

RelatedPages
The following Sports Coach pages provide additional information on this topic:

Coaching Articles
Training Articles
Sports Specific Articles
Literature Review

Advertising
In order to provide the free information on this website we advertise products
and services in order to help cover the costs of maintaining the information
and hosting the website with our internet service provider. Please support
Brianmac Sports Coach by disabling your ad blocker on.

SportsCoachUpdates
Updates to the Web Site are detailed on the Sports Coach Blog

Needmorehelp?
If you are unable to find the information you are looking for then please select
this link to email me your query or email me at brian@brianmac.co.uk

TellmewhatyouthinkoftheSportsCoachWebSite
I would value your feedback on the Sports Coach Web Site as it will help me
improve its content and layout.Please select this link to provide your
feedback.

Free newsletter and two free reports:

Training for Distance Running and Training for Speed, Power and
Strength
Email address
--Select Country

--Select sport--

Join

Top of Page

Home Page

1996-2016 BrianMac Sports Coach - www.brianmac.co.uk : All Rights Reserved : Page Last Modified - 13th September 2016