Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips How do you exercise?

Try using an gym ball (also known as a swiss ball). It has helped me immensely - helps me stand upright.
Also, have an assessment at a reputable gym. Any piece of equipment which stretches the spine is worth trying.
Do you have access to hydrotherapy too?
Good luck!

EXERCISE?!?!?! what is that???? oh... yeah.. something I once did and hope to do again. I've found that anything I do while in a flare makes things worse. Even my physical therapists are stumped at what to do. I just work on moving as much as possible when I can. I do laundry, cook, light housework... play with kids... all things as my body allows. Some days the only movement I get is hobbling to the bathroom!

But don't listen to me! I'm the world's worst AS patient when it comes to exercise right now! I don't go to a pool because getting ready to go is too much for me right now. Maybe someday I'll be able to do something.....

I prefer heat.. there is no definitive 'right' way to treat inflammation.. heat or cold... do whatever works right for you. The 'theories' constantly change, and is different according to who you talk to. That's enough for me to believe that there is no right answer so do what works for you...

My feet, ankles, hands, wrists & shoulders LOVE cold..
my back loves heat...
my neck alternates all the time...

Hi, Moem. Exercise is extremely important for anyone with arthritis, but for those of us living with AS, it's triply so. We have a saying, "Use it or fuse it." There's good reason for that, as exercise and range of motion/stretching in particular will help keep our spines from fusing.

That said, if you're experiencing pain with the exercises given you by your PT, I strongly suggest that you talk to your PT about it. Explain where the pain is and see if some adjustment can be made to the exercise to take that into account. If you're already in pain in an area, it's not a good idea to do aggressive exercises for that area. Light range of motion and stretching is the only thing you should do to areas in pain, and even then be careful not to push it.

Also, I would ask whether the pain lasts more than a few hours, or if it lasts for days. If it's only a few hours, it may be that your body needs to adjust to these exercises. If it lasts for days, then you've pushed it far too hard and need to ease up a little. Again, talk to your PT about the difficulties you're having with these exercises.

People have already suggested swimming in lieu of riding your bike. Very good suggestion. Your local chapter of The Arthritis Foundation might have a list of public pools in your area that offer aquafit for people with arthritis (teachers trained to deal with people with arthritis). I don't know that for certain, but I would be surprised if they didn't have such a list available.

Just as a side note, it's important that we talk to our healthcare providers if some aspect of our treatment isn't working, or if we cannot comply with it for some reason. In this case, it's your PT, but also your doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, naturopaths - they need to know these things, or they cannot help us find the treatments that work well for us. Just a general thought.

Hugs,

That is some good advice which I intend to use. I really should talk to my PT rather than whine about the pain in here.

Thanks for that

My PT is very much aware of my disability so to say. I didn't find out that I had AS until my spine had already fused together and then it took a regular doctor 10 months later to tell me I had AS. Even the spinal surgeon and the rheumatologist never figured it out. So my physical therapy is lots of easy stretching, bouncing on a large ball and a vibra trim machine is supposed to help with the bones. I walk a lot around the house and the store, whenever I go. Some days it is easier than others.

Eva

Hi Eva,

I noticed from your bio that you have RA and now AS as well. Do they think you had AS all along and just got the diagnosis recently? I assume that RA and AS affect you differently - i.e. RA affects peripheral joints like hands and feet and AS affects spine and axial joints. Is that how it is for you?

I'm just curious because my current rheumy is questioning the diagnosis of spondylitis and suggesting RA although I have virtually no hands or feet involvement.

How do I exercise? VERY SLOWLY

and....very carefully
(sorry, couldn't resist after jame's lead)

sue

Recently, not enough, and in conjunction with the bad weather has probably been contributing to my blue mood. This is a good reminder that I need to keep on track.

If other exercise is hard for you to do I highly recommend swimming. I started very gently doing freestyle as I was advised by a physio to avoid the breast stroke kick as it is bad for your knees. Sometimes I couldn't kick coz of my knee so would hold a kickboard between my legs to keep them afloat while just using my arms. Later I got a pull bouy, designed for that purpose, so that I could concentrate on working my arms. Sometimes if shoulder or elbow was giving me trouble I would just kick holding the kick board. Sometimes I had trouble turning my neck, so would combine freestyle kick with arms doing breast stroke (although a snorkle set would have solved that). It might look odd, but mix and match to what is comfy on the day. Backstroke wasn't my forte and resulted in more rinsing of sinuses than I felt comfy with, and I couldn't keep straight. But it would be better than freestyle as you don't have to turn you head to breath, a nose clip would solve the rinsing issues. I also had a go with some borrowed flippers, which I loved as it turned me into a speed demon. These are great for improving your kick and really giving your legs a workout. Some pools are set up for aqua jogging, and this would be great too as you can maintain an upright posture and not have to worry about co-ordinating your stroke/breathing, which can be a challenge for me. My reward for a swim was time in the spa afterwards, and if it wasn't crowded I'd do some stretches in there. If you can manage a couple of times a week it gives you a really good low impact all over workout. Just walk carefully around the pool so as not to slip over. I tried a couple of hydrotherapy sessions, and while I loved the warm pool I felt completely out of place and it was hard for me to get to, so I stuck with the routine I had.

After starting with a specialist rheum. physio (who was fab) I got some exercises that focused on maintaining posture. I also had a gym programme put together and got physio advice on it. Now, nice as the gym trainer seemed initially he just didn't get the arthritis. He put together a good programme of gentle stretches to help with flexibility and 4 easy weights exercises. But after the first proper run through there were 2 weights exercises I just couldn't do, and when I asked if there was any alternatives was basically told no pain no gain. After surpressing the urge to kick him I just didn't go back to him for advice again. One I left out until knee was stronger, the other I never did again and was given an alternative by my physio. The first part of the programme was warming up on a cross trainer or exercycle. Cross trainer was great as it is upright and low impact on joints, and I could work my arms too. On the exercycle I would sit upright and not hold the handles to keep my back straight - that was the physios suggestion. If I went out on my normal bike I would make sure I did lots of back stretches afterwards. You can get equipment that you mount your bike on to to turn it into a stationary/indoor bike. This would mean you didn't have to worry about weather, potholes, other traffic, and could sit upright without having to hold onto the handlebars. Might be worth looking into, here are some examples: http://www.bizrate.com/bicycles_equipment/products__keyword--indoor+bicycle+equipment.html
Before moving I got another gym instructor to put together a programme I could do at home, in conjunction with some walking or cycling. I was so pleased to discover she not only knew what AS was, but had a friend on the NSD for it. I was in such good hands with her, and she always stressed to only do what I felt I could comfortably manage on the day. This programme uses a swiss ball, 3kg dumbells, a wall to stretch against and the floor with a mat or folded blanket. The aim is to maintain my flexibility and muscle tone and to strengthen my one skinny thigh. Oh, for the days that a skinny thigh would have been a cause for celebration...

If what you're currently doing is causing you problems talk to your 'team' and work out something you can comfortably do, and that your technique is correct so you don't make anything worse. Keeping moving is so important for your joints, but also to keep your muscles strong. I slipped over once, and while I got more of a fright than anything it was a wake up call because I realised I didn't have the strength to stop it. And, if you can get endorphins going, all the better...

I put my right foot in
I put my right foot out
and I shake it all about!!

I stretch all day long. I am losing the battle, but I am still active. All range of motion is important.