is it best to keep mobile?

[coxy]

Hi, i am suffering at the moment with very stiff joints especially in my arms and legs/ankles.

I would like some advise on whether you think i should keep getting up for a short walk or rest my legs for a longer amount of time. As soon as i sit down they seem to stiffen up more so that when i stand up it takes me a while to get going i.e walk half normally again. I'm not sure if keeping mobile is going to help them from stiffening up more? I also get pins & needles in the top of my feet after i've sat down for a while, i feel it as soon as i stand.

Any clue please?

 

[Dainty]

It sounds to me like the stiffness is being relieved by "warming up" your joints, as movement does. Heat also does that. So you could try applying heat instead to relieve the stiffness.

As for the pins and needles, the only suggestion I have is while you're sitting try wiggling your toes every once in a while, rotate your ankles, that sort of thing, to keep blood moving.

Sorry, not much help to offer. It just might come down to a balance of stiffness vs. PEM, and you have to decide where on that spectrum you want to be.

 

[Wonko]

assumign that your stiffnes is similar to mine then I havent found a positive correlation between lack of movement and stiffness - ie the stiffness occcurs within a few minutes of stoppign movement regardless of how much or how little I move - upto a point - to much movement causes PEM - that said it is significantly worse in the morning and evening but that seems to be regardless of how much I have done in the day - unless I've overdone it in which case it's worse

or to put it another way - I wouldnt advise stopping all non PEM inducing activities to see what happens to the stiffness - neither would I advise engaging in activity levels which cause PEM to see if the stiffness is reduced

as with most things it's find a balance you can live with time...

sorry I cant be more help

 

[ukxmrv]

Coxy,

What happens if you sit with your legs up? I've noticed that the "stiffness, hard to start moving" symptom occurs for me if I sit on a conventional hard chair with my legs on the floor. I now sit on a soft sofa with my legs up or if on a conventional chair with a footrest. It may be blood flow?

(just an idea and you have probably tried this)

 

[Sallysblooms]

If it from circulation, you can do a few simple things. Pull your feet backwards as you sit with your feet up, to stretch the calves. Do a few times back and forward and around. A warm bath is good, NOT too warm.

I learned about circulation and moving. When I was much more ill with my POTS, I could NOT move, just sat still for months until I saw my doctor and started to feel better. Anyway, my feet had started to get nerve problems, I was so scared. All I needed was to move. Blood feeds the nerves and joints. We do need to move. The simplist things can help. I agree, wiggle the toes. I also rub my feet and toes this REALLY helps. I rub my feet and also my calves. My hubby does it for me too. I do it in a warm bath too, that is great. Sit with your feet up and do these simple things. We were meant to move and be active so being sick is hard.

You didn't ask about this, but for my core, I cannot do sit ups or anything hard, but I do put my hands on my kitchen counter, then bend over a bit and hold there. IF you can, you can go up and down a bit. I do it is a doorway too. I only do these when my hubby is home in case I get light headed. The core muscles really benefit from this. My CFS doc said it is good. Getting muscles as strong as we can keeps the muscles squeezing the blood and sends the blood to the of the body. Really important for people with POTS.

Before I get up, I stretch carefully in bed. Legs mostly. Start slowly and be careful. I bet moving and rubbing the areas will help. Let us know how you do!

 

[Victorian]

The amount of radiation emitted by mobile phones isn't as high as you may think. If it were, then mobile phones wouldn't be able to be sold and used as freely as they are now. There are regulations in place for cell phone manufacturers that their phones cannot emit more than a certain amount of radiation. If it is higher than allowed, then they cannot sell that phone as it is deemed harmful for normal acceptable use. Most phones today emit less than the regulations permit. But if you want to be safe than sorry, I would keep it in your bag or something similar.

 

[taniaaust1]

That answer would have to be a trial and error thing for you..

Moving can help stiffness.. but moving to much can also bring in PEM and hence trigger off things like fibro etc more and end up causing more stiffness. You need to find out what is best for you by experiementing.

 

[*GG*]

The amount of radiation emitted by mobile phones isn't as high as you may think. If it were, then mobile phones wouldn't be able to be sold and used as freely as they are now. There are regulations in place for cell phone manufacturers that their phones cannot emit more than a certain amount of radiation. If it is higher than allowed, then they cannot sell that phone as it is deemed harmful for normal acceptable use. Most phones today emit less than the regulations permit. But if you want to be safe than sorry, I would keep it in your bag or something similar.

Hmm, Dr. Mercola wrote something about this a short while ago. The article says something like if you have poor reception, then the more "Frequency, radio waves" are coming from your phone so you can make a connection. I know I have tried to curtail my usage.

 

[Mya Symons]

I always feel better when I walk around a bit, expecially if I have stiffness or tightness in muscles or joints. I think that is why I feel better the 4 days a week I work because I have no choice but to walk. However, my symptoms are so much worse the day after I over do any exercise (or the night of if I exercised in the morning). My sister-in-law who has this illness takes her dog on short walks several times a day. This really works well for her since it is not "too much." Maybe I should try taking my cats out for walks.