My Tricks for Adding Movement to My Day

 

I’m always pleased to read news of advancements in health and wellness for those of us living with ALS. But one statement always makes me laugh out loud: ALS patients shouldn’t exercise because they need to save their energy.

More than 10 years of published research on exercise and ALS indicates that moderate exercise is safe for patients with ALS. Plus, as a former wellness instructor, I know that making my body and muscles move creates a reserve of energy.

I’ll be the first to admit that the symptoms of ALS make being physically active a challenge. Plopping down in a comfy chair and spending the whole day there is easy — and addictive.

But health experts remind us that long bouts of uninterrupted sitting can have negative physical and emotional consequences. Sitting motionless reduces blood flow to our legs, increases swelling, and leads to weakened muscles. It also increases neck and back pain, lethargy, and plain old foggy thinking.

My plan

My approach is a crude imitation of the Swiss vitaparcours I helped set up in our local park in the 1980s when I was in charge of our hospital’s community wellness program. Our goal was to combine walking through the park with light calisthenics. We posted signs every couple of hundred feet where walkers were invited to stop and perform arm circles, knee lifts, or other simple exercises.

Today I use the same concept and build movement into my day by assigning imaginary rules to certain areas and furniture in my home. It’s my own personal Parkours.

For example:

·        Before I sit down on the chair near my computer, I do 10 chair squats.

·        Before I sit to eat breakfast, I hold onto the kitchen counter and do 10 heel lifts.

·        While standing and brushing my teeth, I do glute squeezes.

·        While sitting at my computer, I take breaks to extend one leg under the table, hold a few seconds, bend my knee, hold, and return my foot to the floor. I do five sets with each leg.

·        When I sit down to watch TV, I do side-to-side stretches with alternating arms held overhead.

In all cases, I follow safety guidelines. I lock down my rollator either in front or back of me. Or I use a chair that is not on wheels. 

Each time, I do a few repetitions instead of a long, tiring sequence of movements. It’s just enough to fire up my muscles, but not tire them out.

Why are mini-sessions important?

These sessions help make up for the incidental exercise that we miss out on now that we live with ALS.

If someone else prepares your meals, makes your bed, fetches the mail, and waters the plants, you miss out on a lot of incidental exercise. You miss out on simple physical movements that would have provided your body, muscles, and bones with healthy activity and muscle stimulation.

My activity level has slowed considerably over the twelve years I’ve been living with ALS. But I’ve found that assigning pre-planned moving breaks throughout my home helps keep my energy up and my mind alert.

If you sit down and can’t think of what to do, try doing wide movements. Or simply make big circles with your arms, hands, or legs. Just move!

Let’s keep moving. 

Because when we do, we’re learning to live well while living with ALS.

BONUS! Here are a few resources to help you with ideas of what to do:

-        A Healthy Sit (plus sample exercises)

-        Keep Moving (with seated exercise videos)

-        From Outer Space to Inner Ear (more sample exercises and videos)

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Dagmar Munn
ALS and Wellness Blogger

"Movement is the unifying bond between the mind and the body, and sensations are the substance of that bond."

 Deane Juhan, Trager® Approach practitioner

 

A version of this post first appeared as my column on the ALS News Today website.