Exercise to keep you up - Revised April 20,2008 - Personal - http://maxpages.com/happymspage/Exercise_to_keep_you

The revision Sept 17,2007 The necesity for exercise is to keep
the rest of your body healthy.
April 20,2008 Being able to walk 25 or 50 feet is the usual measure for deciding you will have your wheelchair paid for by insurance ,particularly Medicare.
Actually most times with MS affected persons they will issue you a wheelchair even if you can make 100 to 200 feet with crutches.Its more on total massive exaustion we get that merits the issue of a wheelchair.
The person even in a wheelchair must think of body preservation.
Frequently the shock of slipping into a wheelchair because of
progression which none of us ever planned for is a trama!!
Don't let the trama shorten your life.It can easily.

While I eventually got to the physical level that the wheelchair become
what I would call just about half the time and walking with better braces
become the other half.REt 4/20/2008

At the
end is a address of Catherine MacRae's
"GentleFittness" Be sure to see it .These
exercises are especially good for the SPMS
or PPMS persons without a swimming pool.

Revision April 15,2000 ---RET
Had you any doubts about the value of exercise for
yourself as a person affected with MS and you have
chosen the easy way out and are what is so offen a
"couch potato"
GET OFF THAT COUCH AND EXERCISE!!!!!! While
I had a set back in Sept.99 and an even worse one
in 95-6 Both of which it was predicted I would spend
The rest of my days in a wheelchair.Once again
I think that day has come(Sept-2000)While I'm not sad
about being back in the wheelchair It does have both
advantages and disadvantages. I will discuss these
further on an other page.

Now I see the possibility of eventually not depending
on any assistive devices except for longer walking sessions.

Most people don't realize that the right kind of
exercise,done over a long enough time will do miracles.
Remember not all your nervesare damaged.
Therefore different muscles or should I say muscle fibers
are controled by nerves that can work for you.
These are the ones to train.
No you don't need a trainer,experiment with yourself and
find out what works
best. With "gentle Fitness" by Catherine MacRae

I'm aware that having MS
makes having
purposeful and meanful exercise as a
regular program is difficult to say the
least. Some might even think of exercise
as tandamout to punishing the body.
Americans in general, including the
able bodied folks talk a great physical
fitness program. Much expensive equiptment
is sold. But when we look at the statistics
and comments from foreign visitors we get
a different picture. The statistics are
saying most of us have gained too much
weight.The frequent foreign visitors say
that
there is more fat noticeable than they
remember from before in previous visits.
Why is this happening? The fattening
of Americans.The answer to me seems very
simple.
1. If we have a meeting, we always expect
refreshments
2.The TV is loaded with suggestions for
something to eat.Right now.
3.There are too many special occasions
where we eat more than we need.
4.There are too few occasions where we try
to cut back. We only eat"softly" when we
aren't feeling good.
We stopped have refreshments at our
local MS support group, and we heard about
it soon.
But getting back to exercise.You can
have too much exercise also, although most
of us never get there.Previously in the
article not on my page any more,the reasons
for exercise, but like a favorite writer I
frequently quote,Maxie Dunnam, in"Let Me Say
That Again" and that is just what I'm going
to do but in a new way.

Think of your body as a very complex
group of machines that are networked to
the total machine.Which really is the case.
Now think of some of the parts of the body
as not functioning as they used to do before
MS came along.Movement becomes difficult,very
difficult for some. If you allow the process
to continue, the break up of your body will
accelerate.In my 25 +years with this MS,
I have watched those younger than me go
down the tubes faster than they should. That
is the truth without proper circulation of
the blood one function after an other will
start to shut down. And you will get colds
and other ailments faster, you will age
faster, and die sooner.
Now I know better that most, that this
is now summer and it is easy to get over
heated out there.Especially in Florida.
But there are indoor things to do where
it is air cooled,or if you walk, get out
to the mall and do it.There are exercise
books
for those in wheelchairs. I've mention
them before.It was exercise more than any
thing that brought me out of full time
wheelchair use in 1996.
the trick is that in a warm climate
we do the exerciseing in the morning or
after the sun gets down, or indoors. But
then we come to my favorite type of
exercise swimming and aqutic exercises. In
the water you never get too hot, it is
the best cheap cooler known,water.The water
will do a great job of helping you to stand
easily and just walk in the water. I go up
to my neck in water and can walk like a
dancer on my toes. It's fun. For those in
wheelchairs,If there is any way to get in
do so, you will be amazed at your ability
in the pool. We have 2 or3 scooter users
that live in the community we live and I
frequently see them in the pool.

Another good reason for an exercise
program for most of us is to help the kidneys
to function good and filter out all the
medications we must use.
Drink pleanty of water to assist in the
process especially this summer. You are a
wonderfully complex group of machines all
working together even still in spite of the
MS. RET 6-11-98
ps A fellow MSer, Catherine MacRae has a
excellent exercise tape, "Gentle Fitness"
her web site is www.gentlefitness.com/
catherine.html
her phone is 1-715-362-9260
the ordering phone is 1-800-566-7780
they are $19.47 for the video tape until
June20 (plus 4.80 UPS)

.

Just what the doctor ordered?

Naturally before you start any exercise
program , check with your doctor.
Between the two of you something can
be worked out. I found my doctor very
open to talking about the subject.
We both have a fairly good idea this
body can take.
I hope you do know your own limits.
Not all areas of your body have been
invaded by mS. There are muscles that
are unaffected by MS will waste away
if not used. We must keep the blood
flowing to the extremities, heart,
kidneys lungs and the glands .
Most of the difficulties that MS people
have can be traced to the shut down of
organs and glands that have not been
properly serviced with the circulation
of blood.Every cell has to get it's
nutrition.
For the want of a cell the tissue
was lost. For the want of a tissues ,
the organ was lost. For the want of the organ ,
the life was lost. Need I say any more ?
There are areas that become hard to
exercise and sometimes massage and passive
exercise might become necessary. I love

my Amigo scooter but it is not exercise.
Personally I can't take too much exercise
in a single day but I do what I can and
enjoy the Amigo the rest of the time
They have a nice web site at
http:www.myamigo.com
Those of you that can walk ,
even with assistive devices, try to
gently extend the distance. But start
with small goals. Try to get up to
15 minutes at least 3 times a week.
Your doctor or physical therapy person
can tell you what your heart rate target
should be for your age and condition.
Usually it is 50 to 60% of your resting pulse.

HAPPY EXERCISING!

Some other video tapes and exercise books

The folks at the magazine called
"Accent On Living" carry some books and
video tapes. On by Lisa Erickson, called
" Lisa Erickson's Seated Aerobic Work Out"
for $29.95
Martha Rounds Had a tape of 20 minutes of
work out called"Anybody Can Sit And Be Fit"
for $19.95. The books ar
"Recreation & Sports" For $4.95 It has
photo to give it some idea of the vastness
you can select from. Also a little book that
I like Is Called
"How To Live LongerWith A Disability" for
$11.50 . I can't really be sure that these
are the same prices. I got them out of an
old copy about a year old But their
phone # is 1-800-787-8444. This is an
ordering number and they would be glad
to send you a catalog.

UpDATE 4-23-98 I just got the three
wheeler called Miami SUN . It come with
the gears as an extra, but I couldn't make
the old one go any more on little inclines.
Just another one of those MS things that
happen . Some times wish I had a motor,
but then I wouldn't get the exercise.
Richard

Eileen Lukeman and Richard Tanner

FL.

Eileen(Lobosgirl) and Richard (RET1000) both at aol.com

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Page Updated Sat Jun 6, 2009 10:56am EDT