Coping With Chronic Illness - Exercise Part 2 - 5 Myths And Facts About Exercise While Ill

5 Myths and Facts About Exercise and Chronic Illness

As I said in my last post (Coping With Chronic Illness -  Exercise Part 1 - Is It Good Or Bad?), we live in a society that thinks of exercise primarily as being a weight thing – or something that makes one more physically “uniform”.  But it is so much more than that!

For us, exercising to lose weight is not the main goal.  It may possibly come as a side benefit.  But for us, the main goal is to be able to participate in life.  To be able to move about our homes, maybe to work, go grocery shopping, play with our children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews, to enjoy nature or a social event.  We just want to have a semblance of a life, and to make a difference in the lives of others.  The more strength we lose, the less of life we can enjoy.

I am using the word exercise pretty loosely.  Really, rather than “exercise” I’m talking about body movement or activity - anything which builds some strength.  There are different levels of illness.  Likewise, there are different levels of body movement.

If you are bed-ridden you are not going to be able to get up and do calisthenics.  (I know, I’ve been there.)  You also won’t be able to do gentle walking.  That is OK. 

If you are not bed ridden, the chances are you still can’t run marathons or do Power 90 or Turbo Jam.  That is OK too.

Exercise can range from walking to the bathroom twice to jogging for 30 minutes.  It can range from doing dishes to swimming laps.  It can include doing simple extension exercises in bed.  It can include a three minute, very slow, very shaky walk.  Exercise needs to be adapted to you.

Exercising with a Chronic Illness – Myths and Facts

Myth 1.  People with chronic illness shouldn’t exercise at all. 

Fact:  It is true that there may be times when exercise is impossible due to a severe relapse or other health complications.  

However, as discussed in part one of this series, exercise is difficult but still important for people with chronic health problems.  It can significantly improve our quality of life - easing pain, increasing energy, building strength and stamina for daily activities, strengthening our hearts, lungs, brains, and muscles.  

On the other hand, if we don’t exercise our symptoms will continue to worsen, we may lose our independence, our energy will continue to decrease, we will lack stamina for daily activities. 

Myth 2.  Push through the exhaustion

Fact:  If you try to do too much you will sabotage yourself.  You will end up in a relapse.  You will have to fight your way back up from the relapse, which means you will not be able to exercise.  And you will give up completely. 

The key is to be reasonable and to start very small.  I’m not talking small from a healthy persons perspective.  I am talking EXTREMELY small.  

As an example:  Now, after my latest and most severe relapse, my goal is to walk slowly for three minutes in a row most days (just around the inside of my house).  My ultimate goal is to be able to walk through a grocery store without being in bed for a month after, or to look after my nephew for a few minutes without a relapse.  But to reach that goal I have to start very small.  (I’m seeing progress.  I started at one minute a couple months ago, I’m up to three, and I think I’ll be able to move to four minutes in a row soon.)

Myth 3.  No pain no gain

Fact:  This kind of thinking lands our bodies in serious health debt.  Instead of gaining strength and energy by pushing yourself harder - you injure your body and use all of your reserves.  This leaves no reserve to carry on with life after the exercise - and this leads to (debt) a relapse.  It could lay you up for anywhere from a day to a few months.  

In my experience, depending on health levels, this doesn't always happen immediately.  But it does ALWAYS happen eventually.  If we consistently push our bodies too hard - the relapse is inevitable. 

Being reasonable with yourself is essential.  If something hurts, stop.  If you start but cannot finish, it’s OK.  If you can’t work out on a planned day, let it go.  Try again later.  Be determined, but be flexible.  And be reasonable. (IMO the no pain no gain philosophy is bad thinking for healthy people too.)

Myth 4.   A person “needs” an hour of exercise a day in order to see results.

Fact: It depends on your level of health and the results you are looking for.  I am looking to slowly build up strength from a state of total collapse.  Exercising an hour a day is pie in the sky.  It is not even a remote possibility.  Three minutes several times a week - that is just barely doable for me right now.  

I really believe that I get almost as much benefit from my three minutes as other people do from much longer bouts of exercise.  This is because it is literally all I can do.  I am pushing my body hard (but not too hard) for my current level of health - and I definitely feel the results afterward.

It has been proven that an hour of exercise a day is not necessary to see improvements in physical health, mental health, and even weight.  30 minutes a day can be very effective even for healthy people.  And for us sicko's - much, much less time can be effective for us.  

Ultimately the more active we (and anyone) can be throughout the day, the more health benefits we will see - as long as we are staying within the limits of our illness.  If you are confined to bed - doing some body movements that improve cirulation and strength might be all you can do.  But, they might be done several times a day and they may only take a few seconds or minutes to do each time.

An effective exercise  should take into consideration your current level of strength, your current goals (being able to live life, hold a pen, walk through a store, sit up in bed), and your relapse/remit cycle. 

Myth 5.  You must sweat and/or get your heart rate up

Fact:  Did you know that many people with MS and ME cannot get overheated without very detrimental effects?  It has been proven that sweating is not required for an exercise to be effective.  

Also, as far as raising your heart rate goes - it depends on the person.  Personally, in the past year I have done everything possible to keep my heart rate low and steady.  Any activity that increased my heart rate made me even more sick.  Although this has improved somewhat in the last couple of months - I am still very careful. When I feel my heart rate rising - I stop and rest, breathing deeply, until it lowers again.  

Basically, as you can see, a lot of the go-to phrases and philosophies of exercise do not necessarily work for people with serious health conditions.  This doesn't make exercising less important.  It just makes it imparitive that we use our brains and listen to our bodies.  And it is important to stop being bamboozled by the media's attitude toward exercise.  

I’m sure there are other myths that should be debunked but these are some of my pet peeves, and therefore ones that I have done the most thinking and reading about. 

So, we have examined why we need to exercise and some myths about exercise.  Stay tuned for the practical part of this series - Coming up:  15 ways to build strength while coping with chronic illness. 

(Disclaimer:  I feel I should add that I am not a medical expert, nor an exercise expert.  I am simply relating what I have learned through the past 16 years living with a debilitating illness - and through extensive reading.  I readily admit that one person's experience may be very different from another's.)

And now it's your turn.  What are your thoughts on this subject?  Are there any myths about exercising with chronic illness that you would like to expose? 


You may also enjoy - 

Coping With Chronic Illness posts: 

It's OK to grieve your losses
Knowledge is power
Do not eat, breathe, and sleep your illness
Part 1 - Friendship is a basic human need (the dilemma)
Part 2 - Friendship is a basic human need (who can be a friend?)
Part 3 - Friendship is a basic human need (10 ways to be a good friend while chronically ill)
Part 4 - Friendship is a basic human need (How to be a friend to a friend who is chronically ill)
2 Reasons why lying keeps you sick
Let go of the dream, accept reality, and be happy (it breaks your heart and then rebuilds it)
Accepting reality - what it does NOT mean
3 Ways to advance in a new direction
18 Ways to ward off sadness
I Can't Do It Alone
Talk.  And Talk Some More.
You Do Not Need To Justify Your Existence
Coping with Chronic Illness - Dealing with Its Unpredictable Nature

Coping With Chronic Illness - Other People Have Problems Too
When I have no brain and no body
Caring too much what people think keeps you sick
Caring too much what people think - how to overcome it.

Energy Economy posts:

How to get food into our mouths while chronically ill part 1
Food part 2
Food part 3
Grocery shopping and chronic illness
Wardrobe considerations for the chronically ill - part 1
Wardrobe considerations for the chronically ill - part 2
15 suggestions for Leaving the house while chronically ill
14 suggestions for cleaning the house while chronically ill
Personal hygiene and chronic illness
Dealing with people while chronically ill
12 Ways to simplify your grooming and dressing routines
10 Ways to COPE with Cognitive Dysfunction (Brain Fog, Fibro Fog)  
10 Ways to COMBAT Cognitive Dysfunction (Brain Fog, Fibro Fog)