How to Relieve Fibromyalgia With Water Aerobics

The pain and exhaustion that accompany fibromyalgia can be debilitating to the extent that day-to-day activities are severely limited. If you're suffering from fibromyalgia pain, you may want to consider exercising in the water. Water exercise has been found to minimize the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, subsequently enabling people to return to normal daily activities.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Make an appointment with your doctor to discuss starting a water exercise program. Get your doctor's clearance before you begin any exercise program.
2. Locate a water fitness trainer who has received specific training in water exercise. Find a trainer by calling your local YMCA, community recreation center or physical therapist.
3. Begin water exercise slowly. Even five minutes may be enough in the beginning.
4. Consider working independently with your trainer at first. Some people push activity too far when working in a group.
5. Exercise at regular intervals, increasing time very gradually. Increasing the amount of exercise too quickly can lead to lots of pain and many days of inactivity.
6. Stop exercising when you start to feel pain. This isn't a "no pain, no gain" type of program. Instead think of it as "pain, no gain."
7. Spend some time just relaxing in the water and feeling the buoyancy. Floating is often relaxing to the body.

Tips & Warnings

• Train during the pool's off hours, so you won't be overwhelmed by champion swimmers around you.
• Keep a journal of your progress. Note the amount of time you exercised and how you felt. Even adding a minute a week is a big accomplishment.
• Don't do too much too soon, even if you're feeling great.
• Don't forget to stay hydrated. Sometimes people forget about the need to hydrate when swimming.