Stretching and exercise

[RobLINY]

Hi everyone, I just joined today. A little background on me. I was diagnosed in Feb 2014 after I landed in the hospital not able to walk. I have felt symptoms, after they were explained to me, for the last 4 years or so. I did not have medical insurance so when orthos told me the problem was my back I believed them. I am on Tecfidera and ampyra with good, steady results so far.

I have been preached to, ad nauseum, the importance of diet and exercise. I have been doing a candida diet and detox as found in Ann Boroch's books and the results have been extremely good. The problem I am having is that when I stretch, daily, and workout, mainly squats and treadmill 4-5x a week, I am miserable and in pain for quite a while. Recently I tried shaking it up and took my stretching down to only 3x a week and working out to 2-3x a week. The result: on the days I don't stretch and workout I feel like a million bucks. On the days I do stretch and workout I am miserable and feel like a $5 Bill that was left in a pocket and run through the laundry.

Does anyone have any insight? Do I feel good on the off days because of the stretching and exercise or do I feel good because the stretching and exercise is taken out of the equation? I hope you are all well and having a "good" day.

FU MS!
-Rob

[Lulu54]

.I have to laugh at the idea of doing hot yoga with a group of MSers - that would be ugly.  The cooling garments do work and varying your exercise will also help.  Remember you can still get the same benefit from exercise if you do it in ittle chunks of time instead of an extended period.  In other words, if you want to have a 60 minute workout, it is ok to do 10 minutes and then stop,.  Come back and do anoter 10 minutes and stop.  Allow this recevery period in between the exercising to let your body temp normalize.  

good luck!

[Evalucia]

Hello, I am a limbo lander here, still waiting to get "officially diagnosed".  I have the same problems with exercise.  I feel totally like crap after. I had to tone things down a bit though, went from running to light jogging / brisk walking on the treadmill, strength training is good but I can't seem to be able to add more resistance, my body just will not have it.   I have been doing lots and lots of Yoga, including anti-gravity yoga which gives you more of a stretch and I come home even tighter than ever afterwards.  It does get better after the day wears off.  

Please let me know how the cooling gear works out for you.

PS:  I am from LI myself, Lindhenhurst to be exact.  :)

[HVAC]

It is good to start with a Physical therapist because all stretches are not equal. You need a program for your specific needs. MSAA has cooling equipment if you financially qualify for free. I ride horses and have it.

Alex

[RobLINY]

Thanks for he great answers!  I have been looking into cooling gear, specifically a cooling vest for when I am back on the motorcycle. So thanks for the push in the right direction, Laura! And yes. Kyle, I am on Long Island, on the south shore, Seaford. :)

I noticed the treadmill doesn't bother me so much. I keep it in a realistic range and I feel pretty good. It's when it comes to stretching and spasticity. It feels pretty good as I stretch but once I am done I suffer with pain and tightness for the next 24 hours. I have laid off the stretching for a couple days, I figure reset back to zero and slowly add some stretching and see how it affects me.

I am not a violent person but if one more of my friends suggests "yoga" one more time I will get to see what the healthcare system is like in the New York State Correctional system! lol I am amazed and happy that my friends ran to their computers and researched all they could about MS when they found out my diagnosis. But everyone needs to realize that it was only a few months ago I was in a hospital bed and now I am staring to leave my cane behind so it's gonna take me a minute to run down and sign up for yoga. Also, I have since stopped answering people when they suggest "hot yoga!" Lol

It's great to find a community like this! It does suck that we all come together for something terrible but even though I have an amazing support system with family and friends, they just don't "know" what it's like. They mean well and I am very patient when explaining things to them. I think they were more upset by the diagnosis than I was. I was just happy to finally have an answer! :)

[kwarendorf]

Hi RobLINY -

I live on LINY, if LI means Long Island (Great Neck to be precise) :-)

There is a fine line between doing and overdoing when it comes to exercise and MS. As Loara said, overdoing tends to be related to increased body temperature. For me, once I've walked for about 30-40 minutes my core temp has risen high enough to wreak havoc. The messages from my brain to my legs get mangled and I lose control of my legs. Sitting for 10-15 minutes usually allows me to cool sufficiently and I can proceed.

Early on I asked my doc whether over doing it would exacerbate my MS. He said no, but it will take longer than normal to "recover".

Diet and exercise are important. Our bodies are at war, albeit with themselves. The stronger we can make them, through eating well and exercising, the better equipped they will be to do battle with MS.

Kyle

[Lulu54]

Here is the link to the nMSS page on cooling tips -

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Chapters/COC/Find-Resources-and-Support/Services/COOL-IT

[Lulu54]

Hi, Rob and welcome.

I'm glad you found us here - this is a good place to hang out.  So sorry you have joined the MS club - it is stinky.   AS for your exercise question - with that type of workout, I am going to take a not so wild guess that your body temperature heats up.

are you familiar with Uhthoff's Phenomenon?  I would guess you are feeling so bad because of this common MS problem. when we heat up - even a slight change in core temp - most of us have a degradation of nerve signals and conduction.  That very well could explain why you feel so bad and then good, because Uhthoff's is a passing symptom.

Here's a link to explain it more -  http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Living-Well-With-MS/Health-Wellness/Heat-Temperature-Sensitivity


You can still exercise with MS, but you may need to adjust what you do and how you do it.  You can include the use of cooling equipment to help keep your core temp down.  

welcome again and I hope this helps,
Laura