Vigorous exercise and PMR

My experience when my PMR was active was overdoing any kind of exercise was followed by greater level of pain the next morning. I’m sure over doing the exercise by intensity or duration is different for everyone depending on different factors.

I have PMR and GCA. I'm currently at 3 mg of prednisone per day, and I take weekly Actemra injections. I haven't had any flares since I started treatment 11 months ago. I'm currently running 30 minutes about 3 times week, and walk about 75 minutes on the days I don't run. I also stretch and lift weights every other day. I've found that if I run just a little more than 30 minutes in a session, I will need an additional rest day to recover.

Maybe you could try to reduce the intensity and/or duration of your exercise to see what your body will tolerate? I hope to slowly build on the duration that I have found works for me. You could try to err on the safe side to find out what you can tolerate, and then slowly build back up.

I am down to 1 mg after about ten months of prednisone. I am back to doing 40 minute sessions on the elliptical runner at a heart rate of about 130. I can dance for maybe an hour after that but then I just need to lay down and recover. All the things like stretching and isometrics hot bath cold swim help with muscles. Just stay as active as you can and rest when you need to. Fluids and electrolytes make a difference too.

A big piece for me is I just feel good after I get a good workout with my heart rate elevated for forty minutes. It's like taking drugs which is essentially what happens in your body, natural runners high.

On a Prednisone taper (currently at 8 mg) and a Kevzara injection every other week. I do weight resistant training 1 hour, 6 days a week and no flares so far. That being said I had a bad flare in January while not on Prednisone or Kevzara.

I’m 76. Soon to be 77. I went through pulmonary rehab to be sure I could do what you have written about. And yes I can. I agree with your summary but I do this only on Tuesday Thursday and Saturday. I do rest regularly. Monitor pulse ox heart rate I agree on the electrolytes too ( when I remember to use them). They help a lot. Also: do not rush or hurry through exercise I concentrate on the movement and doing it correctly and the pulmonary rehab taught me how to breathe during the various exercises. PMR still there but we can let it stop us. Thx

Sorry. We can’t let PMR stop us. ☺️

Exercise produces its own inflammation through wear and tear of the muscles. That inflammation requires additional cortisol to manage post-exercise. At 2 mg, it is possibel that your own body is not yet producing any of its own cortisol and you are relying on your daily dose to deal with PMR and exercise inflammation. It's possible that this doesn't leave enough prednisone to manage your PMR through its daily cycle. Have you had your adrenal function tested to see how well the adrenals may be "waking up" after an extended period of prednisone? Down to 2 mg in less than 12 months is quite a fast reduction. It's rare that the PMR will have subsided within such a relatively short period of time.