Resistance Training and PMR

I’ve had PMR for three years. Did two courses of prednisone, completing the last one two months ago. I’m not rid of it yet but it is relatively mild and manageable.

I’ve been doing strength training with resistance bands twice a week for about a year and a half. It exhausts me but has strengthened my muscles. I don’t think it has helped reduce PMR symptoms but hasn’t made them much worse either.

I have been using a sauna in the morning along with a massage gun to alleviate the morning stiffness and pain of PMR. It definitely helps and seems to relieve the symptoms sooner than without those treatments.

Strength training is very important for good overall fitness so I would encourage everyone to do at least some and as much as you can without causing more PMR symptoms.

Good luck to all PMR patients.

I bought resistance bands a few months ago but using them has caused pain the day after so I'll be leaving them for a while. Also can't wait to start on lifting weights I've bought but am too scared to try them yet. We do need to strengthen muscles though, so I'd like to hear other people's experiences with resistance training too.

I do CrossFit and am in my 7th year. When I was diagnosed with PMR 1 year ago doc emphasized do not quit CrossFit. With the exception of bikes and rowers, your body is the machine. We do resistance training, strength training using weights, and stretching. I go twice a week for 1 hour and I am 82.

Once I was relatively pain free, I continued with my Silver Sneakers program. It was something to look forward to and not overly demanding. Lots of stretching and light muscle workouts. Hopefully all instructors are as good as mine is. Highly recommend staying active if you can!

You are awesome!
My rheumatologist said early on that I was doing as well as I have been due to exercising. I competed in Crossfit and Olympic lifting but was having so much hand and hip pain that I pulled back. But I know that movement is good medicine 👊💪

@christopherc Thanks for the reply. As with all exercise it is impossible to tell what it prevents. It is always possible to tell if it causes pain! Based on my research strength and resistance training would be key to help me rebuild what I have lost over the last 5 years as well as possibly maintain better health. I am going to start out by going to PT for 6 weeks and get the therapist there to help with an exercise program that I can use to build on during 2024. Thanks again for your reply.

@wilmingtonemperor I'm a mere child of 80. You have now become my exercise pace car. I hope by the end of the year I can be in a cross fit program as well. I'll check in with you thru out the year and report progress. Thanks for the encouragement. Cross Fit for PMRers - here we come.

It is hard to tell if it is just using muscles again that has caused the pain or is it a flare? I have finally achieved an ESR and CRP in normal range. Slow taper.

@froehlich22 Since I was first diagnosed with PMR my CRP has been as high as 100 and inside normal only a couple of times in five years. CRP seems to like the 2-10 range. My ESR has been as high 130 and inside normal about a third of the time. It seems to like being above 50 when it is high. I will be interested to see how the course of steroids works on these numbers long term.
I am starting to exercise with a set of reasonable goals and a level of determination to stay on course. It will be interesting to see how far down this path I get. The Physical Therapist I am working with manipulated my knee caps, I have osteoarthritis in my knees. That caused enough pain it set me back for a week. So I can tell it will be very slow going.

JA, my pace car is a 92 year old retired orthopedic physician who is part of our CrossFit group called the Legends. Our “kid” is 73.
Good luck and stay in touch.
John