Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Sporting ASKickers How has exercise changed your life, and kicked AS?

I'd like to hear from those of you out there who have used exercise to manage their AS. Tell me your story! How did you transform yourself?

I'm in my late 30's and have had mild Undif-AS for a little over a decade. I used to be in pretty good shape, lifting weights and jogging/walking regularly. I'm now about 70 lbs overweight (thanks, sedentary job) and my knees are pretty much euchred. No more jogging for me unfortunately. But I have fantasies in my head of transforming myself back into a lean, healthy, strong person who is happy and not afraid to take on whatever life hands me.

If it wasn't for this danged autoimmune problem, I would actually have a pretty healthy constitution. I rarely get sick, I heal quickly and I've got a pretty high pain tolerance. Once I get into it, I really enjoy physical activities that push me to do more than I think I can. Rock climbing was great, and so was weight lifting. I really like the idea of hard-core activities like these, but I don't want to be stupid about it either. I have joint problems. I used to love jogging, but I know it's out. But do I really have to be satisfied with stuff like yoga and tai chi, or is there anyone out there who has worked up to including more aggressive boot-camp-style sports in their routine? Anyone use body weight exercises? Do you have alternate ways to do some exercises that put less stress on your joints? How have you adjusted your routine?

I'm not disparaging yoga or tai chi, btw! One Bikram class and I was literally crying halfway through. I just want to try things where I can TELL my body what to do, and it has to listen to me. I guess I want to feel like I have some control over it instead of the other way around.

Hey, come on over to the KickAS FITNESS TEAM and join in our merry little band of the "move-it-or-lose-it" variety!

Exercise has completely changed my life. From 24/7 gruesome pain and wheelchair shopping to gaining back at least 50% mobility and strength.

I walk (almost) every day; that's the most useful thing of all. of course there are days i can't, but when i can, i do.

i used to swim, but now my SI joint doesn't allow it. it was great when i could do it.

i can still bike, it's not hard on any of the joints really. maybe knees if someone had bad knee problems. i do have arthritis in my knees, stairs are really difficult, but biking is still ok. and it really raises my heart rate, i feel great after i bike. like i used to when i ran.

some on here do run, so don't count that out either.

i got off my butt today and joined the ymca. after a 45 min arobic workout in the pool, 15 women and me. i did pretty good except with anything over my head, my shoulders dont do that anymore. getting out of the pool was rough, i forgot about gravity. i went into the sauna for 20 min and felt somewhat human when i got out. my neck cracked while in the sauna without hurting remarkable. my rhuemy was right low impact exercise works. now is nap time hope i dream about summer. mike

I joined the local Aquatic Center Arthritis class, a bunch of women and me. The water is about 90 degrees and the class lasts about 40 minutes. I will use the treadmill if I don't get to the pool. My knees are very bad also. On a good day I will go to the pool then take our dog to the dog park and walk. The snow has made the walk difficult because the ground is now uneven. I have also lost about 10 lbs. on a Paleo/17 day diet. Need to lose about 10lbs.more. Hope to get down to my birth weight. I guess I made the commitment to exercise every day and eat right. Eliminated most starch and all processed foods and also doing a low carb diet right now.

On top of my AS (which has been around since age 16), I never stopped doing sport. When young, I did everything I could: tennis, rugby, cricket, athletics (short distances, high jump, shot put), table tennis, squash, swimming, mountain biking, boxing, judo. I had to stop the dangerous ones, esp after serious rugby injuries. Played on provincial level tennis and table tennis. Now only doing table tennis socially, still playing tennis league (competing with people of all ages) and playing interprovincial veterans still. Started mountain biking about 20 years ago, and never stopped... except for short time after two mad vehicle crashes. I've for years done workout regimes on my home gymtrim exercise machine (now at old home, will get new one soon).

Most benefit I got was from some excellent stretching and core-strenghtening exercises (from physio and Pilates instructors, which I adapted for myself), as well as special foot movement exercises I used for tennis.

Have stopped playing competitive tennis a month ago due to a 6-level PSO (Pedicle Subtraction Osteotomy) I'm undergoing in a week's time. Will cycle and stretch to the end.

Can't wait to get better and continue exercising. Hope to take up swimming again (its hot here in South Africa most of the year), cycling all over the place, and playing tennis as best I can.

Here's the rub: physios and specialists who've seen me and worked with me, all said that they have many people with a less severe degree of structural damage than I, but who now spend their time in a wheel chair. If it wasnt for sport and keeping fit, beating the odds and persevering, I wouldve been there too.

I did lots of silly and wild things (like chopping down trees and carrying heavy stuff, carrying on with dangerous sports despite injuries, and driving over a cliff once...) but was lucky never to have broken anything. MOST of my disks have fused already and I lost about 6 inches in height. I hope to get about 3 inches back with the operation. Main thing is that my lines of gravitation and vision should improve greatly.

Not to underestimate the mental side of things, I'm committed to my own future, confident that I'll improve and continue to beat the effects of AS, and inspired to help others to reinvent themselves in the face of the onslaught of disease and disability.

Most important is to seize the day by making the most of what you have, are and dream.

Wanted to add this: one of the debilitating side-effects of AS was that it broke down my immune system. That always interrupted sports and exercise, and caused huge frustration.

Often happened that when my kids got a runny nose, I ended up with a bad cold or worse. At a stage (I was about 35 then) my system just couldn't take all the medicines, and I just didn't heal. I worked with students then, and the kids got in touch with so many others that were ill, and I just never seemed to escape. Stress levels were also high, and exercise took a back seat.

I then read a local article about the struggles of others, and how one chap (he was then a cabinet minister) turned it around through persistent cycling (keeping fit), and by taking a natural local product made from the African potato, called Moducare, to boost immunity. I started taking it, boosted myself for 2 weeks, and NEVER looked back. DOn't know if that is available outside South Africa, but there are many similar products on the market.

To this day I use it regularly and since it is natural, its best taken on an empty stomach.

I also use other multivitamins now, try to live and eat healthily, and believe I am so much the better for it. All of that enable me to exercise a lot and play competitive and non-competitive sports.

I started working out 2 years ago 5 days a week for about 1.5 hours at the end of my work day. It has been the best thing for me and I lost 30 lbs as a side effect I am 6'1" and went from 205 to 175 . I am 47 years old and as good of shape as I was 30 years ago. I have had to stop working out once for a real bad flair for a few weeks and once for knee surgery for about 3 weeks. I feel it is one of the best things you can do to help fight this disease . Good luck and go for it....

I've been exercising for years, originally to help deal with depression (which in retrospect I think was triggered by years of unexplained pain and being made to feel like a hypochondriac!) but came to realise that it did indeed help my pain! It's taken a while to get it right - I was pushing too hard (getting frustrated and being stubborn because I wanted to feel "normal" and found I was going in regular cycles of OK for a few weeks, flare and no exercise for a few weeks.)

While in the last 3 years I've gone downhill and have had to give up the classes I was doing (I LOVED Zumba & boxing), I've recently tried a new approach, doing short intense cardio/functional strength sessions. Sort of like crossfit, but I can't lift heavy weights. For the first time in probably 5 years, I've been able to go to the gym 12 days in a row without feeling like I was going to collapse in a heap - still muscle sore and felt like I'd "worked" but not the deep pain in my SI joint/pelvis that I was triggering by trying to go full pelt on the X-trainer for an hour.

It's actually been great - great for my head space and great because I used to get soooo bored on the x-trainer and spent the last 50 minuts having an argument with myself in my head about whether to keep going or not! haha

I think if you start off gently, get your core strong, get some help from a PT with experience/training in "injuries" or a physio you can definitely get back to exercise and help your AS. I find that the days I DON'T exercise are a lot harder generally....I go at 5am every morning to get everything moving before work because when I get out of bed, everything is grinding and clicking and locked up!

Good luck!

snow, snow snow.. I will be shoveling for days!

Lola Mae gets lost in it!!

good thing she is black