PMR and exercise: What helps you?

I have been doing yoga 3/4 times a week for the last four years. I had to stop briefly while I figured out why my body was so sore but once I was diagnosed and on the prednisone I resumed. I do a class called yoga for flexibility and also ball yoga. I love it. I believe it has kept me more agile and flexible. I do still get sore some days as I taper. I started at 20 mg last Aug and am down to 7 now. I also was just diagnosed with severe osteoporosis so have added some weight lifting to my routine. I believe keeping moving has helped .

I agree that regular exercise is very important. I feel worse if I miss a day of exercise. I find Tai chi particularly helpful, and attend two 2-hour classes a week. I also walk every day, and try to include hill-climbing (I have osteoporosis as well as PMR, and need to work at maintaining bone density). I love to swim as well, but haven't been to the local pool since the pandemic began.

I agree! I started doing Yoga every day during the Covid lockdown and attribute my practice to a better outcome with PMR than I might have had. Water exercise, Yoga, and walking have kept me relatively pain free as I taper Prednisone.

I also do tai chi every day and particularly appreciate the fact that you don't have to get down on the floor and you can do it "small" when you are sore or fatigued. It did not prevent me from getting PMR but it has been a positive companion that also helps with balance and flexibility. I also continue to do physical therapy exercises that were given to me before my diagnosis and some stationary bike riding for cardio. So far this has not been too much for me, but we all need to assess what works for us and what doesn't.

It is a challenge to exercise just enough without overdoing it and which exercise is tolerated is quite variable.
Before I was diagnosed, I had some pain in my neck and shoulders, but when some unrelenting pain in my hips made going for a walk nearly impossible, my doctor suspected PMR and the pain was gone within 48 hours of starting prednisone last April. I have tried repeatedly to get off the steroids (currently taking 1g) and keep trying to find exercises that aren’t too hard. My point is that PMR can cause pain in different places in the body, so different exercises are needed.
A recent fairly light weight-lifting session left me with severe pain in my hips and lower back (body weight squats, 6 sets of 10). The same number of pull downs (20 #) and 6 sets of 30 second planks left me a little sore in my upper body for a few hours, but stronger, not in exquisite pain.
I am tempted to say weight lifting for the upper body is wonderful, but be careful just how far you walk! I use walking sticks even for a short (2 km) walk.

I do CrossFit twice a week. I am in my 8th year starting at age 75.
When I was diagnosed with PMR in Jan 23, Doc said don’t stop CrossFit. I like CrossFit because except for the rowers and bikes, your body is the machine. It is a whole body workout. Core, cardio, strength and most importantly with PMR, flexibility.

I ride a bike early in the morning for just 15 minutes on level ground. Beyond that I go by the rule of 5. That means no more than 5 reps of any exercise at any one time. The routine includes arms, legs, neck and shoulder stretches. I like the one where I put my weight on one leg while holding on the fridge and swing my legs in all directions. The amount of weight bearing is minimal but is better than nothing and it can work holding either the top of the fridge or the handles. Tomorrow I will do weeding for 10 minutes in a seated position. I am at 4 mg of Methylprednisolone and I started in Sept 2023.

I like your rule of five. I guess without really realizing it I’ve followed the rule of eight, since that’s the magic number in tai chi which is my foundational exercise. It seems to me that the western habit of ‘no pain, no gain’ has not served us very well.

I belong to another PMR forum and I have noticed, from the postings there, that there is a pattern of success followed by failure. On days when the PMR symptoms are muted the tendency is to overdo it by leaps and bounds!
From the posts, I gather that many of them were movers and shakers before their illness and the loss they suffer now is collosal.

Would you kindly let me know that address of the other PMR forum?
Thanks