Friends,
Do you ever get tired of hearing âJust Keep Movingâ when you keep losing mobility or your MS is getting more challenging? Believe me, sometimes I feel that way too. I know how frustrating it can be when my body doesnât cooperate with what my mind wants to do. Does it help to get frustrated? I couldnât help but to get frustrated for quite a few years. I still get frustrated at times. For me, I found that getting frustrated doesnât help either so I try not to do that anymore. I just try to and accept it as âit was it isâ and make the best of it.
So what happens if we canât keep moving or we donât keep moving as we live with MS? Thereâs a big difference between if we canât keep moving and we donât keep moving. If we canât keep moving, my heart really goes out to all who canât. Youâre a big part of the reason weâre doing what weâre doing by trying to keep people moving. If we âcanâ keep moving and we âdonâtâ keep moving, Iâm not sure what to say. As you know, MS is different for everyone and what works for one person may not work or even be possible for another person.
For me, I feel really lucky that my body responds well to movement and exercise. Sure, exercise fires my MS symptoms up when I exercise but it doesnât make my MS worse overall. In fact, itâs what gave me mobility back over the years. Keep in mind, I couldnât walk without assistance, I couldnât feed myself, dress myself, etc. Yes, it was frustrating. The only thing I changed in my life was I started stretching and exercising. Day by day, little by little, I started to make a little progress. Little progress turned into bigger progress as the âyearsâ went on.
Unfortunately, from what I learned myself and what Iâve learned from other people with MS the past 8-1/2 years of getting together, progress doesnât happen fast. Itâs a slow process that requires a lot of hard work. Is it worth it? Granted everyone is different but for me, it has certainly been worth it. If I hadnât started exercising on a daily basis 21 years ago, thereâs absolutely no doubt in my mind, I would not have been walking for the past 21 years much less hiking, running, biking, swimming, etc. Thatâs how bad my MS was with no signs of improvement until I started exercising.
So, who can make progress with their MS by exercising? The best answer I can give to that question is the people who do what they âcanâ do consistently. The key word here is âconsistentlyâ. By consistently, I mean everyday. Yes, seven days per week. How much is needed to make progress? This is where everyone is different. In fact, the same people are different at different times of the day. For me, I can exercise for an hour or two hours in the morning without much problem. In the evening, I wouldnât be able to exercise for 10 minutes and if I did, it wouldnât be comfortable. Iâm not even sure it would be beneficial. For some reason (MS) my body shuts down in the afternoon and evenings. I need to do my exercise in the mornings.
As we live with MS, our bodies will tell us what we can do and what we canât do. Itâs important we listen to it. Anytime someone with MS starts to exercise, I encourage them to start with the body parts that are the strongest. Those body parts usually respond favorably fairly quickly. The weaker parts will follow along with the stronger parts over time. Itâs ok and good to work on the weaker parts but letâs not make that our main focus. Our main focus should be on the stronger body parts that can make progress. For the weaker parts, it takes lots and lots of repetitions to make progress. However, in many cases, not all, we can make progress with the weaker body parts through repetition.
How much exercise is too much or too little? Again, this is where everyone is different. I like to suggest we pay attention to our recovery time. If our recovery time is two minutes, you could probably do more. If our recovery time is two or three days, you probably did too much and need to back off and gradually build up. A healthy recovery time is two or three hours max.
So, to get back to the original question about the phrase âJust Keep Movingâ, at this stage of what I know about MS, thatâs the best I can personally offer. It doesnât matter what you do so do what you like. If there were a better protocol, believe me, Iâd be promoting that. Everyone should be working closely with their doctors to see what they can offer for solutions and answers. The medicines have come a long ways in the recent years and again, everyone is different so they need to work closely with their doctor to see what will be right for them. Your doctor can also prescribe physical therapy and occupational therapy which I highly recommend.
There are lots of other things we can do to improve our lives with MS. Things like prayer, sleep quality, gut health, massage, ice packs, meditation, nutrition, intermittent fasting, electrical stimulation, vibration therapy, accupunture, etc. all help some people as well. Work with your doctors on the medication but donât be afraid to experiment with some of the other things mentioned and find out what works for you. For me, itâs been prayers being answered and exercise as my first line of defense.
Please keep in mind that we are here for you. I can say with lots of confidence that people who join us on Wednesdays and Fridays do much better than people who donât come. Even though this is a no whine zone, misery likes company and when we work hard together, we benefit more. I hope youâll continue to join us consistently.
It sure was nice having Dr. Becky Thomas and her students from Bryant Stratton College back with us last Friday. By the looks of Dr. Becky on the e-bike, I think she was glad to be back too đ.
It didnât take the volunteers long to hook all the trikes together and get people with MS out riding. Fun!
Weâll be getting together again from 9:00am â noon on Wednesday and Friday morning at the gym. I hope youâll join us!
Wisconsin Metal Parts â Westmound Building
W228N791 Westmound Drive
Waukesha, WI 53186
We realize the virus is not gone yet. In fact, the numbers are very concerning again. Many of us have either had COVID or have been vaccinated or both. With the numbers going up, we have more people wearing masks again. Thank you for doing that!
At this time, weâre leaving wearing a mask up to you to make good decisions. If you have concerns, please wear a mask. Either way, please be respectful. Thank you for being so understanding, cooperative and respectful through this entire pandemic. I wish we didnât have to worry about it but itâs reality at this time.
One of the most important things you can do is to stay home if you have any symptoms or know youâve been exposed to someone with the virus. Please donât come until your symptoms go away. Letâs also give each other some space when talking to one another and continue wiping the machines down before and after you use them with disinfectant. Letâs stay safe!
It looks like weâll have nice weather for our Friday morning bike ride again this week. It might be a little cool when we start so dress accordingly. As we get into the fall, every week we get to ride together is a bonus. Weâll continue riding as long as the weather is 45 degrees or higher @ 7:00am and itâs not raining. I hope youâll join us!
We had another great ride last Friday. It was good to see Pam back on the bike again. Many prayers are being answered. Al is always fun to ride with đ
Weâll be meeting Friday morning at 7:00am at Nettesheim Park in Pewaukee. Itâs on the SE corner of Hwy SS and Oak Street. The GPS address is: N26W27495 Prospect Ave, Pewaukee, WI 53072. Come a little early so you can get your bike out of your car and be ready to ride as close to 7:00 as possible. Weâll ride until about 8:45.
If you need me to bring a trike or a tandem for you, please let me know and I will bring them.
If youâd like to ride but donât know how youâd do it, please let me know. Weâll do our best to figure out a way to get you riding. We get pretty creativeđ.
Ricky Heldt will be here on Wednesday and Friday again this week doing Tai Massage. Many of you have reported making great progress with chronic pain relief, range of motion, walking better and a new sense of hope when Ricky does his magic to you. Please keep in mind that consistency is key. We need consistency to realize the benefits long term. Thatâs why weâre having Ricky here both Wednesday and Friday mornings. We want you to have long term relief. Ricky will have a sign up sheet based on first come first served. You can pick the time slot that works for you. I highly encourage you to take advantage of Rickyâs Tai Massages each day and sign up for your time slot as soon as you get there.
Last week, our prayer group was once againâŚpowerful! I just love the way we share, pray together and witness prayers being answered weekly. Thanks goes to God and to everyone that joins us.
Our prayer group will be in person at the gym as well as on zoom this week at 11:00am on Wednesday. Weâll get together and share, talk, listen, give thanks and pray however God leads us.
MS – Just Keep Moving Prayer Group
Wednesdays @ 11:00am
Join Zoom Meeting with this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82689557013?pwd=NzNEL0ExYkpSdnE5RllCQXlJeVo1UT09
Meeting ID: 826 8955 7013
Passcode: keepmoving
We had a fun call with Adam again this afternoon on his inspirational zoom call. Weâll be doing it again next Tuesday. Please join us if you canâŚthank you!
Inspirational Humor with Adam Wollert
Tuesdays @ 1:30PM
Hereâs the link to join usâŚI hope you do!
Join Zoom Meeting with this link
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9431389152?pwd=bWlYbFNaazVnM1M1cWxWMitlODdXUT09
Meeting ID: 943 138 9152
Passcode: 3qP2hu
Phone:Â Â 1-312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 943 138 9152
I encourage you to share a smile with someone. Perhaps you could give someone a call that you havenât talked with for a while just to see how theyâre doing. We all could use a little extra love and encouragement during these times.
MS is tough. Letâs stay calm, focused, healthy, flexible, have faith and learn as much as we can about the challenges of each day as we make good choices. Better days are ahead.
In God We Trust!
Dan