Question:
I have been studying yoga (Iyengar school) for 8 months now, and I must say,
it has really helped me a lot. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about a year
or so ago, although I am certain that all of my muscular pains and fatigue are
due to my "beloved" hypothyroidism and its effects over the years before it was
detected. I remember about four years ago, I went to physical therapist who
remarked how "short" my muscles were. One of the aims of yoga is to stretch out
all of the muscles, tendons and ligaments of the body, i.e. to lengthen them. I
practice about a hour every day, which, although sometimes painful, has made a
noticeable improvement in the mobility I feel in my muscles and joints and the
level of pain and fatigue. The kind of pain that I felt before starting yoga
has virtually vanished--the only kind of muscular pain that I feel now is the
standard-post exercise type.
I wonder if yoga practice could improve symptoms for any of the other
fibromyalgia sufferers in the group?
Has anyone else had a similar experience?
Answer:
When I was first dx'd with FM, several of my "mainstream" Dr's
recommended yoga, since as exercise goes, it is low impact as well as
relaxing. I think that Steve Crisp has had some good posts as well as
bad ones, but he seems a bit "knee-jerk" about some things.
By the way, the yoga didn't help me, as I actually had thyroid problems
which weren't showing up in the bloodwork- another failure of modern
medical science. Whether or not I ever had FM is in question. Since I
have been put on Synthroid by a Dr. who treats symptoms, not bloodwork,
I have noticed SIGNIFICANT improvement, even though I still have a long
way to go.
To simply say that exercise in general will help someone is dangerous.
In many cases, specific types of exercise are advisable, such as yoga-
and this fact IS recognized by Drs. Not for any "new age" reasons, but
simply because it is appropriate in terms of impact or other
characteristics. The entire discipline of physical therapy- a very
mainstream field- is based on providing the correct exercse to help the
patient.. To say that someone is advertising simply because they are
recommending something which may have a cost attached is quite
inaccurate, unless of course, Mr. Crisp is advertising doctor visits.
I would also like to note that although instruction is preferred, your
local library should have plenty of free books and videos to help anyone
wanting to study yoga but lacking the financial means to do so. And, as
with ANY type of exercise, a medical opinion is advised if a person has
ANY underlying medical conditions.
