Getting Strong: Exercises for MS

When you first get diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). it is easy to focus on the negatives. Relapses, flares, fatigue, the list seems endless. Maybe you have visions of ending up in wheel chair, or at least having to use a cane or a walker. The good news is that you can actually do a lot to get strong, even with MS by doing the right exercises.

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Intro to Exercises for MS

After decades of getting weaker and slower thanks to my MS, finally getting diagnosed with multiple sclerosis meant I could learn how to fight the beast. This happened with combination of medication, physical therapy, exercise and internet support groups. Today, I am both more motivated and have more knowledge of how to get strong by doing exercises for MS. Jump right in and get fit with me!

Getting Strong MS Exercise Ideas

Following is an overview of different ways of getting stronger, some general, others more specific for MS.

Disclaimer: I have lived with MS for many decades, but I am not a doctor or physical therapist, none of this is medical advice. Always talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program to determine what is best for you.

Move!

First and foremost, getting strong with MS is not that much different from fitness advice for anyone. Move as much as you can. The general recommendations is 150 mins of moderate aerobic activity per week. For example five days of 30 mins of exercise will do the trick. This can be broken up in smaller pieces, like 5 or 10 minutes chunks.

Even mundane activities / every day chores can count towards the 150 minutes. Such as cleaning the house, line drying your laundry and weeding the garden. Of course biking to work if you can and taking the stairs instead of the elevator will contribute too.

Consider getting a fitbit or other activity monitor and keep track of your level of activity. For example, when I started with fitbit, I put my daily goal at 10,000 steps. I wish I could say I make that everyday, but that would be a lie. Still, I have been able to get faster and stronger AND new research shows that the sweet point for a longer life might be about 4,500 steps. Every step counts, so don’t get to caught up in that 10,000 number, find out what is the right number for you. I found that keeping track is motivating in itself, seeing the trend and “competing” with other people.

Another thing I like about the fitbit is that it signals me I have been sitting for the last 50 minutes and suggests moving around and getting some steps. Sitting around for a long time just isn’t healthy, whether you have MS or not.

Physical Therapy

After my diagnosis, my neurologist, Dr Smith, gave me a referral to physical therapy. Working with PT started my journey to getting strong, by giving me many exercises for MS. During my first visit with PT she did an initial evaluation, so that we would have a baseline and know what to work on. Not surprisingly, I had balance issues and scored as a fall risk, so I had my work cut out for me.

Because of the thorough evaluation, she could give me specific exercises that would work for me, including standing in the corner with my eyes closed. I like to joke that my PT put me in the corner, but it turns out it is in fact a really good exercise for balance.

Over time she helped me figure out what exercises worked for me and helped me to both get stronger and increase my walking speed. In addition she recommended using hiking poles during our NH winters for balance and on longer walks to improve stamina. I found them to be helpful for both.

Yoga

Over the years. I have always been fascinated with yoga and had some short stints of doing it at home from a book. After my PT recommended yoga for helping me with balance and strength, I finally joined weekly yoga classes at our local fitness center.

Spending just one hour per week at a gentle yoga class has been amazing for my balance. No, I still can’t do everything as well as the average bear. Yes, it feels like everyone else in the class is better / stronger / more flexible than I am, but I try to measure myself by my own success, my own triumphs. Well, at least I try to. And yes, I can feel and see improvements in all that I do.

Additionally, a few weeks ago I joined a pilot study for Loveyourbrain yoga and MS. Loveyourbrain yoga was developed after Kevin Pearce, a local snowboarder, had a devastating accident while training for the Olympics freestyle snowboarding competition. Stay tuned for an article specifically about this study. For now I am happy and proud to be part of research investigating the practice of yoga as an MS intervention.

Hooping for Joy!

When I saw an ad for a free hooping class at our gym, I jumped at it. Little did I know that it would lead me to an almost daily practice and I even take my hoop for all our travel.

See more

Exercises for MS

The National MS society has a great page about exercising with MS. In a nutshell, it tells us not to overdo it and lists the many benefits of exercising for MS-warriors. For example research shows that cardiovascular fitness, strength, cognitive function and bone density are benefits of exercising.

When I talked to my neurologist about it, he basically said “Find something that you enjoy and will keep doing. It can be biking, walking, swimming, whatever works for you.” There is no magic “right exercise”. Instead, there are many ways to get strong dependent on your personal interest / preference. As Nike says “Just do it!”

If you are finding it difficult to maintain an active life style, consider finding an exercise buddy, or joining a group class at your local fitness center. After all, as they say “Misery loves company”

As I stated before, many every day activities can count as exercising. Gardening, cleaning, cooking, shopping are all times that you move around and increase your heart rate. I like to practice standing on one leg while waiting in line. If I have a shopping cart, I do exercises to combat drop foot. Even sitting here typing this, I try to move my legs around, for example sticking one straight out and slowly lowering it. The possibilities are endless.

Because overheating often increases the severity of MS symptoms, stay cool. Drink cold water, use fans, time your outdoors exercise during cooler parts of the day. Use a cooling vest and don’t overdo it. Slow and steady is a good motto to follow.

Join the MS Challenge Gym

After my diagnosis, I was looking for on line support groups for MS and I stumbled over the MS Fitness Challenge Gym Facebook group, started by Dave Lyons. The facebook page description reads:

MS community of people who battle this disease through fitness, nutrition and mindset as a complete management regimen. Get educated and hear from fitness trainers, fitness enthusiasts and fitness/nutrition professionals who HAVE MS or have been involved with the MS Fitness Challenge.
EDUCATIONMOTIVATIONDETERMINATION

Who is Dave Lyons?

Dave is an ordinary guy, who got diagnosed with MS and, like many of us, was ready to fight it and live his best life. He exercised a lot to get strong enough to ditch his wheel chair and subsequently with his wife Kendra started the Fitness with Multiple Sclerosis gym and program.

Why You Should Join the Facebook group

Imagine yourself being part of a big, supportive family and all your siblings have MS, just like you. Imagine that together you celebrate even the smallest accomplishments and as a community lift each other up to all be living a full and active life with MS.

For example, every month there is a different physical challenge. Last month was wall sitting (which I mostly failed, but as they say “every rep is a step”) and other months included planking, squats, and this month a hip bridge. Seeing other people reporting their progress is very inspiring. Motivating enough that during the plank challenge I sometimes realized at 11pm that I hadn’t done mine yet, and would jump out of bed to do my plank.

When I joined the related 8 weeks challenge, I learned so many good exercises for MS. For example, a lot of MS warriors experience foot drop and the trainers gave targeted exercises to reduce foot drop. They show how to adjust the exercises for many levels of strength and ability and give wheel chair variants. Very helpful. As an aside, I might be known as the resident bird nerd of this group. No idea why! 🙂

If you have MS and want to get stronger, join us at the MS Fitness Challenge GYM! (Disclosure: I am not getting any commission or kickback, I just want to share an awesome resource.)

My Experience Getting Strong with Exercises for MS

As you can see, I have found many good resources and inspiration to get strong and live every day to its fullest with exercises for MS.

Thanks to exercising, I am no longer a fall risk. Progress tracking by my physical therapist shows that I am significantly stronger and more stable than at her initial assessment. Every time I see my neurologist he does a walking speed test. Thanks to all the exercising, my walking speed is going up. I have hiked Diamond Head in Hawaii, tried surfing in Waikiki, done yoga on a Stand-Up paddle board, failed some hikes, and am enjoying every day, even despite living with MS.

Conclusion

How about you? Do you have MS? Maybe you are a spoonie with a different chronic illness? Most of the advice in this article would work for you too. Do you have a favorite exercise? What do you do to stay fit?

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