1. < Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR)

PMR and exercise: What helps you?

Posted by jcaffrey47 @jcaffrey47, Jul 17, 2021

We are told that we have to stay active but what does that mean? This issue became very real for me when I attempted to swim the crawl stroke in the swimming pool. I was feeling pretty good at the time. The prednisone had kicked in and I swam the equivalent of two laps. The next day my shoulders were on fire and I was suffering a full flare; my first. Maybe everyone reading this will say that I was foolish to do any exercise that involve my shoulders and that I should limit my exercise to other parts of the body like walking or maybe biking. Let’s start a dialogue and find out what exercises work for all of us.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Polymyalgia Rheumatica (PMR) Support Group.

christi48 | @christi48 | Sep 23, 2022
In reply to @raven1955 "I agree with your statement about pain indicating inflammation. After all, taking prednisone is all about..." + (show)
@raven1955

I agree with your statement about pain indicating inflammation. After all, taking prednisone is all about reducing the PMR inflammation in our bodies. We all want to get down to zero but if we allow the inflammation to increase and cause more and more pain we are missing the point, which is to get to the lowest EFFECTIVE dose that will control the inflammation. An increase in pain says we've gotten a little low with the prednisone dose and need to increase enough to know the inflammation back down. It's much more important to keep the inflammation under control than it is to get off prednisone. I for one will not risk ongoing inflammation triggering GCA and risking blindness. If we can control the pain and gradually get down to a very low dosage of prednisone we can then have virtually no side effects to potentially deal with from the drug. It's also important that blood tests used for PMR are not always accurate. The most accurate indicators for dosage are the pain level and fatigue. Blessing to everyone!

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Oh my gosh - I didn't know the on-going inflammation can trigger GCA. That is scary! However, my inflammatory markers were well within the low-normal range when I decided to taper off Prednisone, but I am still experiencing pain and stiffness, although not nearly as bad as it was when I was first diagnosed. If anyone can enlighten me more about triggering CGA I would love to hear from them. Regards to all. Also, does PMR every just go away?

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1 reply
flymetothemoon | @flymetothemoon | Sep 24, 2022
In reply to @suetex "It is so different for all pf us. My primary doc (a DO and very current)..." + (show)
@suetex

It is so different for all pf us. My primary doc (a DO and very current) told me the other day that there are genetics that some people have that make us suseptable to inflamation. (We were discussing my leg veins which have closed off spontaneously.) She said that it might account for the PMR. I also have glaucoma and one eye that is losing sight so the less pred the better. So I might end up with a small amout of daily pred and that may be ok. We will have to see.

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Just for your information my husband is an Ophthalmologist. He treats many patients with this condition and GCA and neither condition causes glaucoma. Hope you feel better.

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suetex | @suetex | Sep 24, 2022

Yes, I am aware that these conditions do not cause glaucoma but prednisone does increase eye pressure in those that have it. So the use of it is a balance. Thanks for reaching out. (My opthomalogist was sure at first that my rheumatologist could give me something else, we had several discussions about it.)

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raven1955 | @raven1955 | Sep 25, 2022
In reply to @christi48 "Oh my gosh - I didn't know the on-going inflammation can trigger GCA. That is scary!..." + (show)
@christi48

Oh my gosh - I didn't know the on-going inflammation can trigger GCA. That is scary! However, my inflammatory markers were well within the low-normal range when I decided to taper off Prednisone, but I am still experiencing pain and stiffness, although not nearly as bad as it was when I was first diagnosed. If anyone can enlighten me more about triggering CGA I would love to hear from them. Regards to all. Also, does PMR every just go away?

Jump to this post

I've read that GCA can result from uncontrolled inflammation resulting from untreated PMR. Have also read that it occurs in 10% of people with PMR. As to the "how and why?" I don't remember enough of it. Sorry, I know that doesn't explain much at all.

If your inflammatory markers were good I'd consider that to be showing one was at the correct prednisone dosage and it was keeping the inflammation under control.

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mary4 | @mary4 | Sep 25, 2022

Has anyone any experience with accupuncture and/or dry needling for PMR pain. I have been doing this once a week for the last month and it provides relief. I am unsure however if it may have negative consequences. Any experience out there? Thank you.

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1 reply
Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Sep 25, 2022
In reply to @mary4 "Has anyone any experience with accupuncture and/or dry needling for PMR pain. I have been doing..." + (show)
@mary4

Has anyone any experience with accupuncture and/or dry needling for PMR pain. I have been doing this once a week for the last month and it provides relief. I am unsure however if it may have negative consequences. Any experience out there? Thank you.

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@mary4, There is another discussion where a few members have posted about acupuncture. Never tried it myself for my PMR as prednisone was all I needed. My mother had rheumatoid arthritis and severe pain in her hands and got some relief from acupuncture but from my memories she still seemed to be in pain afterwards.

--- Acupuncture and PMR:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/acupuncture-and-pmr/

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sue16833 | @sue16833 | Sep 26, 2022
In reply to @nancybee "I have been on Prednisone for about a year. My husband and I are active bicyclist...only..." + (show)
@nancybee

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?

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I used a (activator) chiropractor and responded well, also used a Fitbit and tried (not always successful) to walk 10,000 steps per day. Before bed 25 lateral leg lifts each side while on the bed. Everyone is an individual, I have been off steroids for a year.

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paelwell | @paelwell | Jan 17, 2023

The day after exercise my inflammation and pain gets worse. Does this get better after a period of exercising.?

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3 replies
froehlich22 | @froehlich22 | Jan 17, 2023
In reply to @paelwell "The day after exercise my inflammation and pain gets worse. Does this get better after a..." + (show)
@paelwell

The day after exercise my inflammation and pain gets worse. Does this get better after a period of exercising.?

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This is what I experience as well. Any kind of unusual activity too causes a lot more pain the next day-for example up and down the ladder. But then again, some days I wake up and remain in much more pain then the day before for no obvious reason. Strange disease it is.

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Mentor
John, Volunteer Mentor | @johnbishop | Jan 17, 2023
In reply to @paelwell "The day after exercise my inflammation and pain gets worse. Does this get better after a..." + (show)
@paelwell

The day after exercise my inflammation and pain gets worse. Does this get better after a period of exercising.?

Jump to this post

Hi @paelwell, You will notice that we moved your post to an existing discussion - PMR and exercise: What helps you?: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/pmr-and-exercise/ so that you can learn what other members have shared. It's good to see that you already have a response from @froehlich22. I too have experienced the "next day" effect after over doing it with exercise or activing when my PMR was active. The key for me was how much activity is too much and I'm not sure I ever figured that out 🙂

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