Exercise Ideas - Coordination

[mrs.b]

My family's been on a roller coaster of doctors and medical guessing games the past couple months; my husband got hit with sudden onset of vertigo and some other symptoms that now lead strongly towards M.S. He underwent a lumbar puncture yesterday to confirm. Some preliminary internet study has shown that individuals with M.S. who maintain a regular exercise routine that includes a lot of coordinated movement maintain better movement and coordination longer-term as the neural pathways are kept active, firing, and rejuvenating.

What are some "manly" exercises? We do general cardio but plain 'ol walking and running are the favorites. He lifts periodically, though not in a standard routine, and does some yoga with me and really enjoys that. He's not much of one for organized sports.

Looking for ideas that can increase a focus on coordination once the docs clear him to resume activity (still a few weeks away, most likely).

[bricabrac]

Hello Mrs.B,

First look -
"People with multiple sclerosis can often maintain an active lifestyle, although they may tire easily and may not be able to keep up with a demanding schedule. Regular exercise such as riding a stationary bicycle, walking, swimming, or stretching reduces spasticity and helps maintain cardiovascular, muscular, and psychologic health. Physical therapy can help with maintaining balance, the ability to walk, and range of motion and can help reduce spasticity and weakness. People should walk on their own for as long as possible. Doing so improves their quality of life and helps prevent depression. Avoiding high temperatures—for example, by not taking hot baths or showers—can help because heat can worsen symptoms. People who smoke should stop."
(Source: Multiple Sclerosis (MS): Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Related Disorders: Merck Manual Home Edition)

Research PubMed - MS occupational therapy study results: multiple sclerosis exercise therapy - PubMed - NCBI
This should give you a start finding ideas for the best therapeutic regimen to have a heartfelt discussion with your Doc/OT. Might be best to seek out a therapy center now, vs later. The most important lesson I've learned throughout the years in medical research -- those who began effective measures to combat illness at onset (ie drug treatment combined with therapy), led to more positive outcomes and quality of life was shown to have much better results.

Remember, medicine continues to evolve and extend far beyond what we previously knew or believed could happen. For example, I've worked on studies with cancer patients who were sure they would not survive 12mos, so decided as a last resort to take part in a study. Outcome: The results after two years were simply outstanding, the study participants looked like new people. Even better than they did prior to the disease. I mention this to say, I have seen miracles happen with the correct treatment programs. Research is the key, don't simply rely on the first thing others tell you. Conducting your own research (in combination with your medical team) and keeping yourselves knowledgeable to new, effective, and proven results are crucial to your family. Docs specialize in different methods, no one knows everything. The internet is a powerul tool, use it!

Good luck, my prayers are with both you and your spouse!

[mrs.b]

Thank you, bricabrac! I'll browse through them and add them to our list of questions for the doctor. We're putting together "when can this be cleared to do" options for the next appointment and definitely intend to get a good therapy routine on the planner as soon as he's up to it.

Oddly, likelihood of MS is a relief. The past few months have had things like brain tumor, blood clot and stroke, and aneurysm as options (they ruled out most of the simple and curable possibilities early on), so MS is strangely good news when the other possibilities are taken into consideration. We have done a lot of reading and see that treatments - medicinal and therapeutic - have come so far and continue to progress. He has relatives with MS that were much further along before they were diagnosed so that has been a point of nerves, but the doctors were positive to point out that he has few symptoms right now (that is what caused some delays in coming to a diagnosis) so the earlier he gets a good therapy plan together, the better he'll be long-term.

[Prloko]

I had a brother with MS. My heart goes out to your family. When the MS got bad, the doctor recommended my brother use marijuana. It had tremendous results. In all seriousness, a move to a state that allows medical marijuana may be beneficial.

[LaterBloomer]

I'm drawing a blank on the name, and I don't know how "manly" they are, but there's a set or style of exercises that helps you become aware of your place in your environment. I think there was one like the DUI test - touching your finger to your nose with your eyes closed, but you may even be lying down when you do it. My recollection is that they're directed toward kids, but I could be off. Also, they may be woo-woo, and not evidence-based. Not much help, but maybe it will jar someone's recollections.

I'm glad that you've discovered the source of his issues, and I'm sure that you'll both devise a life-style to optimally manage the situation.

[Photog]

I'm a bit of a fitness freak, have a gym in my house, I lift weights 3 times a week, hit the punchbag and play competitive football (soccer) with a local team, training twice a week. I also coach kids football for U8s and U10s
My wife loves pilates, yoga, boxing, and swimming.

My opinion is that vigorous exercise is better for health than steady state like jogging and walking, however it does depend on the persons body, their ability, and fitness level. Some people are non-responders to certain types of exercise, and the best way is to honestly try things out, and see what works best for each person. The exercise that he enjoys the most, the one that he will stick to, and will fit into your life without being a problem, is the best exercise to do. Any consistent exercise is better than going all out for a month and then stopping.

Yoga is excellent if you both enjoy it, and it's nice to do some exercise together.

He should try getting into the routine of lifting weights, it really does help everything, hormones balance out, stress reduces, increased muscles mass helps control weight, feeling good after workouts keeps a person happy. He doesn't need to do a body-building program like you find on websites or in magazines. A basic 30minute strength program focusing on compound movements works best, and is very easy to keep up every week.

Something like this can be done at home with minimal equipment:

Dumbell bench press - 4 sets of a weight that only allows between 5-10 reps}
Dumbell bent over row - 4 sets of a weight that only between 5-10 reps
A set of leg exercises like squats, farmers walk, or lunges using dumbells.

Three times a week, Monday, Wednesday, Friday will build some muscle, twice a week will maintain strength. Just leave a day in between workouts to do something else or rest. It doesn't sound like much, but it really is enough to build muscle and improve health in a steady progression. Overdoing strength training requires lots of calories, and it is very hard on the body for recovery. Lifting heavy weights, but only for a few simple exercises, and not too much in one day is ideal. It works for beginner weight lifters, I can explain in more detail if you wish, several people I know are using it, and it is working for them. Focusing of progression over time and improving his lifts is important, just going through the motions doesn't really do much. Nothing more manly than farmers walks

I love hitting a punchbag, but it can be a bit hard on the shoulders if done too much, there are workout programs, drills to listen to, if you want to follow someone. I like Bas Rutten's Boxing Workout Mp3/CD it is basically him shouting combinations to follow for 2 or 3 minute rounds. Can be used for shadowboxing or hitting the bag. Trust me, 6 or seven 7 rounds at full power and you are dropping

Swimming is great for everything, if you enjoy it and have easy access to a pool, make it a regular.

Calisthenics is also excellent for all round conditioning, again, try to make a routine that includes some form of progression, and goals to work towards. Pullups, pushups, planks, squats, jumping jack, dips, crunches situps, and some gymnastic movements.

TRX training is great fun, might be worth trying out if you can before buying a kit.
Buy the force:tactical kit for added manliness

Basically, try out a bunch of stuff for the next six months, have fun and enjoy trying different things, see what fits into your life the easiest, and can be maintained using time efficiently. Start to improve your diet towards your fitness goals at the same time.
You will start to see what you like and what you can keep up, listen to your body, it will tell you when it is not happy
You will probably start setting goals for yourself.

Just try to include a combination of strength, flexibility, and some light cardio each week.


Another option is to start doing a martial art, karate is great for all round fitness, krav maga is also a lot of fun, Tai chi is very good too. Where I live we have lots of mma, thai boxing and pencak silat

[mrs.b]

@ Prloko - We are taking things one step at a time, though pain management has been an issue since July. Part of that is because the doctors had no idea what they were dealing with or trying to treat, so they were hesitant to prescribe anything for fear of worsening his condition if they guessed wrong. He has had a migraine since July 26th (it eases off some days but even on those days it is a basic headache, where the rest is full blown "shut the blinds, keep it silent, hide under the blankets" pain), but after Monday's LP, the doctor finally wrote him an Rx that has kept it down to a dull thud, so despite the pain from the LP, he's been in much better spirits. We have considered a move out of state sometime in the next few years before this health issue came up.

@ Laterbloomer - I've not heard of such a thing. If you think of the name, PM please? He's open to almost anything, though like anyone, it needs to be a type of exercise he can enjoy.

@ Photog - Definitely agree that walking and jogging are not necessarily stimulating enough. Also, one of the early symptoms (that we did not realize was a symptom) is that he is very prone to muscle spasms in his extremities from prolonged, sustained, repetitive exercise like that; just enough to cause a stumble and stop long enough to stretch it out, but never lingering to where he would go get it checked out. But exercise where he changes muscle groups frequently, no matter the pace, does not seem to impact him the same. Karate and krav maga - I like it! Those are definitely up his alley; a few years ago, he mentioned interest in some classes but we had a ton going on and the thought slipped by the wayside. Med bills being what they are right now, a formal class is out of the question but there has to be some beginner walkthroughs on YouTube or similar we could do together until a class is an affordable option to correct form. He does yoga with me once in a while (his choice, I never thought he'd be interested so only asked in passing once and he loves it), but hates my pilates. We've talked about installing a pool, but that is at least a few years off and only if we do not move; there are no reasonably-accessible public pools nearby. He wants to start running with me again when his headache/vertigo is under control, but with the cramping issues, I want to have a list of alternative suggestions handy that we could do together that will add exercise and together time, but not hurt him.

[SweetSecret]

As a couple, consider taking dance classes. Salsa, Tango, etc. Any sort of dance requires coordination.

[LaterBloomer]

I think it's Kinesthetic exercises.

[cookderosa]

so sorry to hear about your husband!

The 5 men in our house do martial arts. My younger 2 are in karate, my older 2 and hubby do kickboxing. Our school offers many much lower-impact styles as well: Wing-Chung and Tia-Chi. I did Tia Chi for a tiny bit, but otherwise don't really have anything personal to say about those two other than there are a variety of ages, genders, and sizes in our school. I think martial arts are very masculine, and I think if he observed a class from more than one school, you'd find a lot of variety and teaching styles. The instructors we've had have always stressed working at your own level.

Hope you find a good solution for him!