Exercise Guide
The importance of exercise for people with muscle channelopathies
Each person with channel disease will experience a different pattern of triggers for their symptoms. Exercise is one of these triggers. Some people experience an episode of paralysis when they rest after exercising. Other people experience weakness during exercise, or after strenuous exercise, and some feel stiffness after sudden movements. People often avoid exercise and reduce what they do. Being less active causes muscles to become weak and will affect your general health.
The benefits of keeping active
Exercise and activity are important for everyone. The less time spent sitting still, the better a person’s life expectancy and the smaller the chance of developing health problems such as heart disease, stroke or diabetes.
People who exercise frequently, including people with long term conditions, can experience better mood, quality of life and less fatigue. People with long term conditions, who have difficulty exercising can benefit from short bouts of increased activity. Reducing the time you sit, moving around the house and taking more steps in the day can be as, if not more, helpful than going to the gym for a workout.
Exercise can also help people to:
- Prevent weakness caused by inactivity
- Improve balance (reduce risk of falling)
- Maintain strength and independence
Key points and considerations for when you start to exercise
Advice about activity needs to be tailored for you and take into account what triggers your symptoms. The Channel Team can help you to understand what your triggers are, and can help to plan how you can start to become more active.
Gradually increase your activity
Increase over weeks: avoid overdoing it and needing to rest for days to recover from exercise. Make sure that you focus on:
- Slowly warming up before exercise.
- Cooling down for at least as long as you exercise.
- Stretching muscles after exercise is also important.
Where to start
Choose an exercise or activity that you enjoy. Make a plan to exercise a little at a time, resting on alternate days.
Avoid heavy weights and try to be more active in the day.
Stop exercising and contact the Physiotherapist or your GP if you experience muscle pain more than 48 hours after exercise; shortness of breath, palpitations, dizziness, or a change in symptoms during or after exercising.
Pilates for patients with neuromuscular conditions
The physiotherapy team have designed an online video to help patients with neuromuscular conditions exercise at home.
