As a former Personal Trainer, I trained clients regularly who had limitations, barriers
or chronic conditions that required specific programming and modifications to enable
movement without exacerbating injuries or pain.
It never crossed my mind, that I, as a trainer would ever be put in the scenario I was placed in after my car accident.
I went from training 6-7 days a week to being curled up on the couch, eating ice cream, and knocking back pain medication to try and cope with the pain. My training and hard work had gone out the window, my pain levels skyrocketed and my range of motion deteriorated rapidly.
It wasn't until I decided that enough was enough and I took my health and wellbeing into my own hands and became my biggest advocate.
Whilst exercise and movement will not cure your pain, it's pivotal in active recovery and well-being moving forward with Fibromyalgia.
As recommended by medical professionals globally, starting out on your exercise regime needs to be at a slow and steady pace, this will allow your body and mind to actively gauge
what your body and mind will allow you to do before pain sets in and or you have a flare-up.
As a qualified personal trainer, I would recommend having a training plan put in place and journaling your sessions, your triggers, and how your body responds the hours and days after your exercise regime. This will allow you full control over how your next sessions play out and where or when you can adjust accordingly.
As we know, being a Fibro Warrior is not without its challenges. One day we can get through perhaps doing a light resistance training workout and the next session not so much.
I have discovered and those before me and after will discover that regardless of whether we physically exercise or don't, our body will still ache and hurt from head to toe so why would you want to allow your body to decondition further and create long term complications with mobility later in life?
Mobility and stretching exercises have been pivotal in regaining back my movement patterns, my ability to endure more mentally, and become less dependent on others, and here is why.
Stretching exercises can help reduce and alleviate tension and stiffness in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments which improves mobility and range of motion. This leads to less stress on the body, as the muscles lengthen during stretching, relieving the body of pent up tension and stress to relax and decompress.
A stretching or flexibility program can also help:
improve range of motion
improve posture
decrease joint stiffness
decrease muscle tension
improve performance
improve your ability to relax
find time for mental training, such as visualization
I have found that Stretching of a morning, after exercise, and of an evening to be of most
beneficial to my daily pain and energy levels.
Remember to start slow and steady, journal your triggers and adjust accordingly but most of all remember that unless you have co-morbidities or underlying health conditions that the pain experienced by Fibromyalgia is very real it is also just a trauma response to a pain signal, your mindset can overcome this and you can take back your control.
