PMR and exercise: What helps you?

I have the same effect.

I know that feeling. The day of is pretty good. The day after is hellish. Sadly, I've found that minima,l soft exercise works for me. I used to be a quite active 72 year old. Not so much now. It's finding a balance I think, because when we feel good, we tend to overdo it and the next day is not good. Just keep moving, not so strenuously. Maybe float rather than front crawl, which I tried a few weeks ago. Enjoy the swim though.

I think you are right. I was on 7 mg and feeling good. Stood at sink several days in row preparing my husband's homegrown peaches for freezing. Went on a day trip and in the car a long time and have a flare up. Moderation is the key to exercise and physical activity. I am back on 8 mg. Was suppose to go down to 6 mg tomorrow. Hope I use more common sense in the future.

I have been on Prednisone for about a year. My husband and I are active bicyclist...only on designated trails...and we are in our 80s. While on 10 mg of Prednisone I felt no pain and could cycle as much as 15 miles without major discomfort afterward. This summer (2022) my doctor weaned me from 10 to 7.5 to 5 to 2.5 mg of Prednisone. I finished it the last weekend in August and almost immediately felt major discomfort in my hips, legs and shoulders, Doctor recommended staying off the meds until the last of September and then having another blood test to determine the inflamation numbers. In the meantime I am working with a chiropractor, riding a stationary bike about 10 to 15 minutes a day and practicing an anti inflamatory eating discipline. My pain level is improving, although I fatigue easily and my mobility is better but not as "balanced" as I'd like to be. I'm trying hard to come up with a program that does not require the Prednisone. But if I need to I would go back on a low dose. Anyone else out there using chirpractor or an eating discipline?

Hello @nancybee, Welcome to Connect. You mentioned tapering from 10 mg down to 2.5 mg over the summer. I'm wondering if that is the issue and why you are having a lot of pain. I didn't have regular ESR or CRP tests when tapering off of the prednisone. My rheumatologist had me keep a daily pain and dosage log while tapering and I was not supposed to taper if the pain was too much. He left the "too much" pain up to me. For me that was anything above a 2 on my pain scale and that normally went away after I got moving around during the morning and took my next dose.

The anti-inflammatory eating certainly helps and was one of the things that helped me taper off of prednisone faster the second time my PMR became active after a 6 year remission. You might find the following discussions helpful:

-- PMR Dosages and Managing Symptoms:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-dosages/
-- PMR: Are there treatment alternatives to Prednisone?:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alternatives-to-prednisone/
Never thought about or used a chiropractor before. Hopefully others who may have tried one will share their experience. Here's some other related information that might be helpful:
-- Diet and Supplements for Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR):
https://www.arthritis-health.com/blog/diet-and-supplements-polymyalgia-rheumatica-pmr
Along with your eating for PMR, have you tried any supplements?

My experience is….at 71, if I exercise hard one day I may be “sore” the next day but it isn’t the PMR kind of sore. It’s the good exercise kind of sore.

Reading your comments I thought I was reading about myself. When I can, I do stretches and they actually feel good. I also “try” to power walk every day. Since being diagnosed with PMR some days are a stroll, some are power walking and some I cannot. Basically, I go hour to hour.
Over this weekend the pain in my hips were so awful that I could not even shuffle. My daughter suggested taking CBD( without THC) tincture. I tried 1/2 a dropper of a 1200 mg bottle every 8 hours.
After about 1 1/2 hr the pain subsided. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will continue to help. I, too, had to go back up to 20 mg.
Feel better.

Hi Tilly, Thanks for your comments! I am thankful that we can see commonalities in our shared experience with PMR but I am praying that we will both find permanent relief soon. I am trying CBD also and will adopt your dosing strategy. Thanks for sharing that. Blessings!

There appears to be no common pattern in the comments on exercise and PMR. For what it is worth I add my own experience which is that vigorous exercise in the mornings - 4-5k jogging - alleviates the tendon-centred pain I feel in shoulders, arms hips, knees on waking around 4am. Pain sets a limit to speed but within that limit, vigorous exercise helps. Last weekend I tested myself with a 12k fun run, which I completed in a steady in 82minutes. Pain levels a little higher on the following day, when I returned to my usual routine, but no more than one would expect from that 12km run on the day before with no adequate preparation. (M, 82YO, 10months PMR, Pred monthly tapered from 15-6mg).

Some days I can hardly roll out of bed, but I'm lucky that my community offers water aerobics which has helped a lot. I can't walk because I'm nervous about my legs giving out, but I can do almost everything in the water. I've been trying to get off Prednisone and down to 1 mg., but my hips, shoulders and neck are very painful and sleeping at night is difficult with the pain. I wake often and last night my husband told me I was moaning. I take way too much Ibuprofen and I'm worrying about having kidney problems. I can tolerate the days, but the nights are bad. I really don't want to go back on more Prednisone and keep thinking I can put up with the pain. I see the Rheumatologist next week so we shall see what my numbers look like. These last 3 1/2 years have been troubling.