Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey and Sussex

Exercise

Do you remember the Wombles?

They were at the height of their fame over 30 years ago!! Some of their songs were unforgettable! 'The Wombling Song' . . . . 'Remember you're a Womble' . . . . 'Banana Rock' etc. etc. But the one that's appropriate here is 'Exercise is good for you', so says Tomsk, the athletic Wimbledon Womble from Siberia.

Standing on your tiptoes, running on the spot,
Exercise is good for you, Laziness is not!
One, two, three, four, bouncing on your feet,
Where is Orinoco? -- Probably asleep!

Up in the morning for a five mile run,
Down to the river for a swim:
Biceps a-bulging, it's all good fun,
Chest out and keep your tummy in!

Jumping in your gym shoes, skipping with a rope,
If you haven't got the energy you haven't got a hope.
Running in the morning, (good for the thighs)
Running in the evening, (good for the eyes).

Physical exertion makes you strong,
Keeps you alert and slim:
Just keep skipping and you can't go wrong,
You'll be sound in mind and limb.

Left, right, left, right, up down, stop!
Is anybody tired yet? -- Tomsk is not!
Puffing like a steam train, running like a horse,
Is anyone for tennis now? -- Tomsk of course!

Poetry in motion, legs in line,
Pressing up and pressing down, four-four time.

We can, however, undertake excercises specially designed for fibromites. See the Classes page.

The links below give some information about Water exercises.

From Aquatic Specialist Mary Essert
Tips for Dropping Chronic Pain
Water Exercise (PDF)
Get your Feet wet! (PDF)
See also H2O~FIT

Other Exercises
Body, Mind and Spirit
Exercise Planner

Adherence during an individualized home based 12-week exercise program in women with fibromyalgia

Date:  Sat, 11 Feb 2006

From the Department of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Distributed by CO-CURE)

OBJECTIVE: Treatment recommendations for fibromyalgia (FM) include regular physical exercise. In this prospective study we examined predictors for adherence to stretching and aerobic exercises in women provided with an individualized home based program.

METHODS: Thirty-nine women kept exercise diaries for 12 weeks.

RESULTS: For both types of exercise, women who were less physically fit at baseline engaged in more exercise during the program. Yet for stretching, more lower body pain at baseline predicted engaging in less stretching exercise over time, whereas for aerobic exercise, more baseline upper body pain predicted more exercise over time. As time passed, participants with higher baseline physical fitness and/or older age were reducing their aerobic exercise practice at significantly faster rates, as were those women with higher baseline stress.

CONCLUSION: Given that adequate levels of adherence were limited to about half of the participants for both types of exercise, steps to reduce barriers to exercise (e.g., stress) need to be taken when prescribing exercise in the treatment of FM.

See also

Fibromyalgia Information Web

Everyday Flexibility Moves. GUIDELINES TO REMEMBER FOR OPTIMAL AND SAFE STRETCHING.

Co-cure Archive

Co-Cure's Research Archive of Articles