Advanced MS and sitting down exercises
Sleeping is good exercise
Advanced MS and exercise are not natural bedfellows. None the less exercise can help us all to manage common MS symptoms such as fatigue, muscle spasms or balance. When I was a child my parents were always saying to me, “Go out side and take some exercise” and it was so easy. Those were happy innocent days Running around was fun and I played sports for the school. So much has happened to me since then, including MS. Quite simply exercise is more difficult when you cannot do it standing up.
Advanced MS and exercise
I’m one year shy of 70 so running around is not a natural activity. Now add advanced MS to the mix and suddenly exercise is very different. I can only walk using a walker. Hopping around on one leg or nipping upstairs were consigned to room 101 many years ago. I can’t even stand up and watch the world go by, I must lean again a wall or sit down on a chair.
Was I lucky?
It took over fifteen years for me to go from walking and running to relying totally upon a walker. Exercise is important but I didn’t think about it until it became almost impossible. The question for me is to know what good exercise looks like. I am a frequent faller and my left leg is as useful as a chocolate coffee pot.
I am not eligible for any drugs that are clinically proven to slow down or stop the rate at which multiple sclerosis damages or destroys the nerves in the brain or spinal cord. ☹ Regular exercise is now the only option to combat MS. Now the problem is finding exercises that I can adapt and do them sitting down.
A video for sitting down exercises.
This excellent video will help if you are struggling to find suitable exercises. Take a look at the third video for suitable exercises. I think this is a very good place to start. The important thing to remember is to do them regularly and try to make them part of your daily routine. You will soon start to see the benefits and discover that you can move onto the next stage.
Thera bands
These are also a great way to add some variety to exercise routines. It is easy to adapt the routines so that you can do them sitting down. Just have a look on YouTube. Different colours indicate the resistance, yellow has the least resistance. Best advice is do a Google search on “seated thera band exercises” and make the appropriate choice.
Sitting down stretches
Stretches are important as well and this one on YouTube is aimed at people with MS. I am one of the first people to put exercises off until tomorrow. My secret is to make then part of my daily routine. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes twice a day for exercises and build it up from there. Now I have exercises I can do at home and they do help me but I’m still a frequent faller.
Associated posts
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December 2023
Thanks for this Patrick. Very helpful. Have a lovely Christmas. Anita x
Hello Anita,
Really pleased that the exercises are helpful.
You also have a good Christmas
Patrick
Thanks Patrick.
Very helpful, as always.
Hope you have a lovely Christmas & ALL good wishes for 2024 X
Hello Katie,
Thankyou for the kind comment and I hope you have a good Christmas break as well. Talk next year
Hi Patrick,
Have a look at MS Workouts.
They do 2 versions of their exercise programmes, one seated and the other standing.
I have been using the seated version since early 2023, which employs CLX Therabands.
They are based in Austin, Texas.
https://www.msworkouts.com/
bernard
Hello Bernard,
MS Workouts has joined the jobs-for-Christmas queue, my life is a bit busy right now.