Exercise as "Cure" for Fatigue? Not for Us!
When I saw the health headlines, "The Cure for Exhaustion? More Exercise," and "Feeling tired? Exercise a little," the first thing I thought was "Uh-oh." I read them and found they were about a study showing that low-intensity exercise can fight fatigue, especially in sedentary people. How many well-meaning friends and relatives, I wondered, will shove these article under the nose of someone with fibromyalgia (FMS) or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS)? Even worse are the I-told-you-sos coming from the not so well meaning. To give you some ammunition, I want to explain exactly why this study doesn't apply to us.
First, let's consider ME/CFS. One of the hallmarks of this condition, which is even being studied as a possible diagnostic test, is post-exertional malaise. What this means is that after you exercise, you crash and crash hard. It's not just being tired, it's a physical reaction that can include exhaustion, severe pain, cognitive problems and flu-like symptoms. It also takes a long time to recover. In the study I mentioned, researchers have found several measurable abnormalities in the blood of people with ME/CFS after exercise, and they also confirm that 24 hours after exercising, these people cannot work as hard as they did the day before. People without ME/CFS have no trouble duplicating their workouts from day to day. While staying active is important for overall health, ME/CFS makes you pay a hefty price for it, and it's vital for anyone with this condition to find and set their own pace.
Now for fibromyalgia. Most experts don't use the term post-exertional malaise with FMS, but this condition has a similar symptom in that over exertion can make symptoms flare up. Numerous studies have shown that appropriate regular exercise does, in fact, help lessen the pain of FMS, but there's a fine line between beneficial amounts of exercise and too much exercise. Some days, a person with FMS may overdo it simply by taking a shower and getting dressed, while on other days the same person might be able to take a 15-minute walk. Much like with ME/CFS, the price of doing too much is steep - incapacitating pain, mental fog and exhaustion that can last for hours or days.
So for all of you who are "just trying to help," thank you for caring, but this study (as noted in the New York Times version) did not include people with these conditions and is only aimed at people who's fatigue is not brought on by a serious medical condition. Please try to understand that we can not "shake off" this fatigue by getting more exercise, or more sleep, or better stress management, or mental counseling, or by any other simple means. Believe me, if we could, we would.
- Understanding fibromyalgia
- Understanding chronic fatigue syndrome
- Find caring, supportive people who understand in About.com's Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forum.
Comments
Yes, if you don’t move you rust. But doing what you can is different from an exercise programme. The last one I tried darned near killed me. Thankfully, my doc is happy if I do some housework, shopping, and visiting friends, etc.
i also have had much trouble getting my family or anyone to understand my physical problems caused by fibromyalgia and CFS, and i also have hypothyroidism which wasn’t diagnosed until after i died from it the first time, and i also have CHF (weak heart muscles) , and a very uncommon movement disorder / shaking trunk syndrome (these are descriptions because it hasn’t been diagnosed yet), which so far no doctor that i’ve seen has ever seen or heard of anyone having what i do, And the shaking is more excercise than i can handle! ! its extremely painful, the fibromyalgia makes everything hyper-sensitive, and with repetitive motions causes muscle cramps, , not counting the depression and other problems of these diseases, just typing this i keep having to stop and rest my muscles,,,
When its a syndrome - i’ve learned there is no cure.
My wife was sick with CFS for many years and my daughter was sick with fibromyalgia for over a year. We spend thousands upon thousands of dollars attempting to get them well. ALL TO NO AVAIL UNTIL we were told that these conditions were spiritually linked! We never heard of that before, but, to our suprise, when both my wife and my daughter were able to address the spiritual issues in their lives, BOTH diseases left! It has been over 5 years ago and both are fit as a fiddle!!
I know it is hard to believe, but experiencing is believing! We now hold seminars 6 times a year and see fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and many other diseases simply go away when people get to the root issues in their lives - especially forgiveness!
I know it is hard to believe, but you may want to check out “A More Excellent Way” book by Pastor Henry Wright, and also a book called “Who turned off my brain” by Dr. Caroline Leaf. On other great book is “Deadly Emotions” by Dr. Don Colbert.
Please, please take a look into your spiritual conditions - Do you have anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, fear, anxiety, etc.? WE ALL DO, and only by getting rid of them will on be able to get rid of these terrible and debilitating diseases.
I’m not a quack, but a physicist, and a very rational thinker, and my only reason for writing this is that my wife was sick for 25 of our 35 years of marriage and now she has been totally healed for 5 years - no pills or medication for these sicknesses!
Check things out. You won’t be sorry!
One other book that is good for discovering the spiritual roots of physical diseases is “Biblical Foundations of Freedom” by Art Mathias, Ph.D.
“We never heard of that before, but, to our suprise, when both my wife and my daughter were able to address the spiritual issues in their lives, BOTH diseases left! It has been over 5 years ago and both are fit as a fiddle!!”
Yes, the placebo effect is powerful indeed. I would love to see the science behind “praying your illness away.”
Louis,
Please be respectful of what other people say and believe. What works for some may not work for all, but please don’t be negative toward people here. That won’t help anyone. If you think a different viewpoint needs to be represented, you can help other people by talking about what has worked for you.
Thanks!
All I can say is that history shows that all wars and the loss of many thousands of lives have been lost in the name of eiher religion either/or for economic profit. Is that disrespectful or just pure fact.
I have FM, but not depression. I might have CFS, and my pain doctor is going to refer me to a fatigue specialist on this.
For me, exercise helps with the pain management. That’s the main thing it does for me. Exercise doesn’t make me fatigued, but I recently started working full-time, and that just wipes me out. I am doing work I am way over-qualified for (I have 2 master’s degrees, but I’m working as an administrative assistant), but I couldn’t work in either of my professions (instructor or librarian) because they would both be too demanding. I’m able to manage the pain okay, but the fatigue is the worst thing for me now.
So for me exercise just helps me manage my FM pain. I don’t find that it particularly does anything else.
I don’t think Lewis meant to disrespect anyone really (while the tone may not support this thought). I think he felt much the same as I did after reading that particular post. My reaction is: By saying that people feel the way they do because of our ’spiritual’ nature; isn’t that implying that it’s psychological as opposed to physical? After all, it’s our thoughts that direct our spirit.
I do pray that your wife is healed. That would be wonderful news. However, fibro has been known to go into remission only to rear it’s ugly head again and again. I respect what you are saying and have no doubt that if our spirit is in balance, it will help us to feel happier, both mentally and physically. But is it a cure?
Back to the exercise questions…I function much like what you have described Adrienne. I can have a day filled with housework, visits, outings and be fine, but I pay for it with 2 days in bed. I also have days where I can hardly brush my teeth. Along with fibro, neuropathy and athropy from an injury (leg)and a total knee replacement, it’s recommended that I exercise. I found PT to be more than I could tolerate and ended up with more swelling and pain the following day. I do low-impact exercises at home. Bending, stretching as my body will allow for any particular day. I try to limit it so that I won’t be down for the next day or week.
I agree, it is most hard to find a program that will work for us.
And by the way…I am a Christian.
I am new to this, but it is nice, because I don’t think anyone understands. I have been fighting cfs for years. I have tried soooo many things, any nothing seems to work, although being positive and reading uplifting books can help with the depression. Sometimes I think it is just my cross to bare and I should just keep pluging along. Amy
I agree we have to keep moving but an exercise program…no way! I went to a physical therapist for help and the first day I threw up during the work out. We decided that gentle stretching was my limit. It does help but many times even this is to much.
Thnk you so much for this article. I immediately sent it to my family, who is always telling me to “get up and do something”, or “go to work and it will make you feel better and more productive”, or “all you need is therapy and the FM will be a thing of the past”. I was so livid I couldn’t see straight. Thank you again!!!!