Being active with fibromyalgia
Kia hohe me te mate tārūrū
If you are active, you will feel less pain and stiffness from fibromyalgia. You will also notice that your mood, general health and sleep are better too. But it is important to be careful with how much exercise you do and when. Doing too much, too soon could cause a flare-up. The key is to start gently and progress slowly.
There are three types of exercise that are important for fibromyalgia:
- stretching exercises to increase the amount your joints can move and decrease your stiffness
- endurance exercises to improve the amount of activity your body can do
- strengthening exercises to increase the strength of your muscles and bones. When your muscles are strong, your joints do not have to do as much work, so you have less pain.
Tips for being active with fibromyalgia
- Exercise at the time of day that works best for you. You may find you have less pain and stiffness between 10 am and 3 pm.
- Do some gentle stretching exercises but be careful not to overstretch. You should feel a mild pulling but not pain. You may find yoga, tai chi or some types of warm-up exercises helpful.
- You only need to do 30 minutes of activity a day to keep healthy. You can do this in chunks of 5 to 10 minutes throughout the day to help manage any fatigue.
- Listen to your body. If your pain or fatigue is getting worse, stop what you are doing and rest. Give it another go on another day for a shorter time. Do not give up.
- For strengthening exercises, talk to your physiotherapist or personal trainer. They will help you work out which exercises are right for you. Make sure you rest between sets of strengthening exercises. Only lift light weights or use resistance bands.
- For endurance exercises, find one you enjoy and start gently. This could be walking, swimming or cycling for 10 minutes at a very slow pace. If you do not have a flare-up, gradually increase the time, speed or intensity over the next few weeks.
- Over time, you may find you can start doing other activities you enjoy. Such as jogging, hiking in hills, golf or gardening. Start gently each time you try a new activity and gradually increase it. Active Canterbury has a list of local clubs and groups you may wish to join.
If you would like some specific advice and support with being more active, talk to your general practice team. They may be able to refer you to a physiotherapist to develop an activity plan for you. You will be charged for seeing a physiotherapist.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2024.
Sources
The information in this section comes from the following sources, some of which may be clinically complex or not available to the general public
BPAC – The problem of pain memory: persistent central sensitisation pain, retrieved June 2017.
Busch, A. J., Webber, S. C., Brachaniec, M., Bidonde, J., Bello-Haas, V. D., Danyliw, A. D., … Schachter, C. L. (2011). Exercise therapy for fibromyalgia. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 15(5), 358–367. Retrieved August 2017.
Patient.info – Fibromyalgia, retrieved June 2017.
Image and embedded video sources
Image of a person lying in bed in discomfort from Shutterstock (image ID 651333202). December 2017.
Image of a woman sitting on a couch and relaxing from Shutterstock (image ID 1796733118). December 2017.
Image of a woman walking briskly in the countryside from Shutterstock (image ID 89548984). December 2017.
Page reference: 438061
Review key: HIFIA-25336