Strengthening core and back muscles

Luvs, I hate to exercise and always have. So many times I would get gung-ho about exercising and it would last maybe 2-3 days cause I would be so bored when exercising and then I could come up with every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t exercise that day. I’m sure this sounds familiar to others too. 😄. And I notice you haven’t gotten any responses. I think there are more people like me out there than people who really want to exercise. 😉

But I’m doing quite well! Why? I just try not to stop doing things I’ve been doing since I was young. A BIG thing that I do is pay attention to my posture. It’s so easy to slouch and that puts a lot of strain on my body and especially my lower back. I have to pay attention to that because of my ankylosing spondylitis. When I catch myself slouching I immediately stand up straight, bringing my shoulders back and I actually can feel my weight being more evenly distributed! This way I don’t feel a strain on any part of my body.

I do all the cleaning of my home as well as steam cleaning my off white carpeting. I don’t enjoy cleaning but it has to be done and in my eyes it’s a form of exercise. It helps keep me from being sedentary. I love to cook and that requires standing upright but also bending to get pots and pans and stretching to get my dishes. Yep! More exercise.

I love to go grocery shopping! Some people think I’m nuts but I love seeing the fresh fruits and veggies along with new products plus talking to people! I am doing a lot of walking in the stores too. And I never have my groceries carried out to the car. My taking care of that is another form of exercise and some bags are heavy but good posture allows me to load the bags up and unload them when I get home.

And you know I love gardening. Yep! Another form of exercise. And then I do things I really hate like cleaning out the garage. 😄. But if you look at what I do, I am using all muscles, keeping strong, and being mindful of my posture. I do believe this all strengthens the core and lower back muscles and keeps me active and not sitting all of the time. That is an easy thing to do...especially during this pandemic!

Lastly, sometimes I’ll dance by myself or march in place during commercials. If I use my arms too, it becomes an aerobic exercise. I don’t mind doing this because I know it won’t last long. 😂. See...I REALLY hate exercising. 🤣

Sherrine

Luvs, always remember to pace yourself when doing anything or fibro will make you pay a price! Even if we didn’t have fibro, if we haven’t done something in a long while we will be using muscles that haven’t been used and, yes, they will hurt.

I’ve done things like that so many times. Before I was diagnosed with fibro I had a neighbor who joined a local racquetball club. I lettered in tennis in school so that sounded like fun and a good way to get strong and lose weight! I paid to join the club and went out and bought a beautiful racquet. My neighbor and I set the date for our game.

I was short and overweight and my neighbor was tall and shaped like a stick. 😳. BUT no one is more competitive than I am. She was very good but I practically killed myself trying to beat her. I had never played racquetball before but I won! 😃. I was so proud of myself. I was tired but the win gave me energy.

The following morning I barely could get out of bed. I felt muscles that I didn’t even know I had. The only thing on my body that didn’t hurt were my ear lobes. 😂. And it was the last time I played racquetball.

This is a main reason exercise doesn’t help me. I’m not a fan of pain. But marching in place doesn’t hurt and when I started doing it, I did it for about one minute and stopped. The more often I do this, the longer I can go and this helps me with energy. And when I dance, I only do it for maybe a minute or until I get winded and then I stop. The more I do, the longer I can do it. Yes, that’s pacing myself. We all have to do this.

Because of ankylosing spondylitis my shoulders curve forward. They have been like that for years and I thought everyone was shaped that way. But as I’ve aged, the leaning forward has gotten worse so I tend to walk head first! Once I realized what I was doing and how it was affecting my back and sciatica, I started making a concerted effort of standing upright and throwing my shoulders back. What a difference it makes for me.

I never sit when I garden. If I do. I have problems getting up and, trust me, it’s not a pretty sight. 😄 Instead I spread my stance a little, bend my knees slightly, and bend to do my gardening. The bending stretches the back muscles and the slight bend to my knees helps strengthen the leg muscles. I generally can do this for a half to three quarters of an hour. Of course I stand up many times, dump weeds and clippings in garbage bags, etc. You could try this and, as a treat for your work, get a lawn chair and enjoy the sun when you are done gardening. And remember...pace yourself. What you don’t do on one day can be done on another day. We tend to want everything done in one day.

Lastly, it’s best to stay on top of your pain with your medication. No one wants to take medication but it sure doesn’t pay to suffer just so you aren’t taking much. I am prescribed more than I take but I never go without taking the amount necessary to keep me comfortable. It’s a quality of life issue. If I wait and not take medication, it takes me far longer to get the pain under control plus I have to take more medication to do that! See what I mean? For me, it’s best to take a little to keep my pain under control and be comfortable than it is to hold off on medication, pay a price in pain, and then have to take a lot more medication to get the pain tamped down and under control again. Having my pain under control makes me happy and allows me to enjoy my life.

Sherrine

Hi again, Sherrine: Yes, pacing is such a biggie for us! And it's strange because I generally do well pacing most of the winter. But then Spring arrives, I get excited, and tend to forget all about pacing! But I'm slowly learning--I think my aging muscles are teaching me some lessons, ha!

I just planted the first of my garden today. Last year, though, I just had too much garden and too little time! So this year I'm going to experiment some and try more container gardening. I picked out some good, sunny spots that look promising. But I'll need to remember to water more often, from what I've read (they dry out faster, so it makes sense). But I'll still have a few things in my 'regular' garden area like peppers and tomatoes. I just don't want 'too much' garden. My sweet D-I-L already said she and the grandchildren could come out and help. The little ones will enjoy it, and my D-I-L loves fresh veggies, so it's a win-win thing for everyone.
I want to be out in the sun daily, not for long periods--I just have to hit that happy medium.
And, thanks for that tip about more bending to garden. I likely should have done that last year! I probably wouldn't have had to make the trips to the rheumatologist and neurologist and saved about $800.!!

Posture is something I know I need to work on. I think I'm getting better about catching myself slouching, but it's a long process.

Exercise is something I tend to do temporarily--until something or another acts up!

I once found a really fun video of old songs from the '60s which was for seniors (exercise). I had too much fun!! The next day I learned my sciatica was wide awake and roaring at me! Lesson learned---move but do not overdo!

I think you're right about medications, too. I likely went too long on too little. Why have pain when you can often ward it off, often on just a small amount?
The irony is that my doctor (a new one--the previous one, who I saw for 29 years, retired) wants me to check in every 6 months because cyclobenzaprine can become addictive. I have been taking it in small doses for over 20 years and had never heard that, but good to know.
I'm generally pretty good about taking my meds before going out somewhere. But because I'm generally home, I do probably let it slide too often and should be taking at least an amount so I'm not uncomfortable. . Another thing to work on!

Thanks so much again for your reply! Hope you had a nice Easter, too.

Sherrine: Wow--that's a horrible problem with slugs! We have some here occasionally, usually after a summer rain, but they tend to disappear afterwards. My M-I-L keeps a cherry tomato plant on her deck (lives in a townhouse), as she likes fresh veggies but doesn't have space for a garden. She's able to avoid bugs that way.

Richard Simmons is so good! The dance video I came across was by (I think) a senior lady; lots of oldie tunes made it fun.

I don't know if I mentioned recently that I take Robaxin during the daytime; it's only at night that I take cyclobenzaprine. I had no idea that they were discontinuing Flexeril brand name in the U.S.! I may have to just stay with the Robaxin.

I'm sure looking forward to things getting back to 'normal' soon. A good sign is that several things (fairs, shows, etc.) that were cancelled last year are (so far) "on" for this year. I hope it stays that way! So glad you had a nice Easter. We're getting daffodils and trees are budding here. My tulips will soon be open, too.

Best way to start an easy program to strengthen the core, where you can't cheat and hurt yourself. Make sure to keep the small of your back pressed down against the floor as much as possible. You don't want room for even your hand to slide under you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_byb0r-4ws

Hi luvz,

I find if i do a gentle program for my back and legs .all my other work, causes less pain..

Like you i need the sun whenever i can sit out some..

Like sherrine, cleaning sure feels like exercise to me! We did not downsize yet..so its a bit much for me. Before covid i had cleaning help...at times.. that kept my work more manageable..

I plant mostly pots now..

Some books I like/use: Your library probably has these.

Pain Free - By Pete Egoscue - This book basically will walk you through correcting posture issues with simple exercises
Back Mechanic - Stuart Mcgill - Gives some simple instructions for a set of exercises to strengthen core takes into account that many people cant do these exercises and gives you variations to start with. Not everyone can do a plank but they can do one standing up against a wall.

Some other things to remember. If your back problems are non muscular issues i.e disk related. You want to avoid putting your back in flexion while its loaded. Bending over picking up pots and pans may feed good but its doing more harm then good. Doing a cat/camel exercise gets the same range of motion but your back is not loaded. Core strengthening exercises should be done with your back in a neutral position. Along with flexion/extension exercises where your back is not loaded.

I had multiple abdominal surgeries in the past year. Basically had zero core muscles. I have been able to rebuild them quite well with these books and PT too. Im coming up on a year now and can do a sit up. Even though its not a good exercise I use it as a judge sometimes. I used to be like a beached whale trying to get out of bed.