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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
 Posted - 06/15/2004 : 09:45:07
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| Can anyone tell me if they've had good results with exercise as a way to release anxiety/stress/rage? I'm considering purchasing a new bicycle...I haven't ridden for years, but think it will give me the outlet I need. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 10:29:39
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Dear JayP,
I'm sure exercise is helpful in dealing with emotional problems and living a balanced, healthy life. I'm certain the increase in TMS is a result of the sendentary lifestyle most people have become accustomed to due to the labor saving technological breakthroughs of the last 50 years. If you haven't bought your bike yet, consider trying walking. I have found, a 45 miinute walk, a great way to resolve TMS related issues that come up duing the day.
I think walking is a great exercise for TMS recovery. I used to run and bike but I found they my attention was geared more to the physcial, because they inherently require more attention to keep from having an accident, like spraining an ankle or running into a fire hydrant--we don't need anymore potential TMS trigger sites.
I just found that the pace of walking allowed me to, double task. I am able to reflect on emotional issues and loosen up the muscles locking up my hip. By the end of my 45 minute walk, I worked through the issues of the day and my limp disappeard. I had a feeling of balance and overall well being. I'm not trying to disuade you from purchasing a bike, only relating what has worked for me. Good luck, JayP, whatever form of exercise you choose, it can only help--just DON'T get injured, it's not worth it. |
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 12:04:44
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Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your feedback. I do love to walk, but find it SLOW at times. I am a bit concerned about biking but not from an accident point of view, more that my focus may go right to my lower back given the position of most bikes, unless I opt for the Pee Wee Herman model!
As I think more about walking, I remember a time when I walked at least 3-4 times a week and how good I felt. Of course, I was also 15 years younger! Did you wait until you felt better to walk, or did you just start off slowly? Today is a "good day", and I feel like I could easily go for at least a 30-minute walk after work. |
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Fox
USA
496 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 12:20:45
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| For me, the best way to get rid of the rage is to punch/kick the heavy bag hanging in my garage. You can even visualize striking whatever person from the past or present has "done you harm." I have varying levels of sciatic pain - the last 3 days have been bad - but this type of exercise never makes the pain worse and usually makes it better for hours......Running helps to clear and relax my mind but doesn't release the anger in the same way....Walking is great for introspection but doesn't release the rage or get the endorphins flowing. |
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Lou
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 12:40:46
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Any exercise helps me. If I am exercising, I feel like I am beating the pain. Biking, Walking, running are a good way to step out of the world and do some TMS reflection.
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/15/2004 : 15:13:23
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Dear JayP,
I neglected to mention that I play tennis 2-4 hours a day. Most of the time it is rage building rather than dissipating due to the annoying behavior of most players. They don't know the written and un-written rules of the game that make it enjoyable to play and provide the rhythm for the match. For the most part it is only the pros and age-group tournament players that can play without being annoying, aggravating, and rage creating.
I ususlly do my walks after playing tennis at sunset. It undoes all the physical and emotional damage that most club level tennis creates.
Back to bicycling. If you fear that racing bike handle-bars are a strain on your back, try a city-bike or mountain bike. I think most bikes today have handle bars that have adapters to allow for a more upright posture or hunched over for aerodynamics so you can have your choice of postures on either model. There's also the recumbents that allow you to sit back. My family doc sent me for a consultaion with a back surgeon several years back and he told me that he rides a recumbent. They just look so un-orthodox and geeky. But we're getting away from TMS here and I hope you can ride any model bike after a short adjustment period to de-condition from the fear-thought that it will be bad for your back. As my yoga teacher once said, "Back bends are good for a bad back". And I proved it years ago, completeing a three day back bending intensive yoga workshop, when I was at an accute stage. It was a breakthrough experience and my x-rays since then show my back to be excellent--my hip is another story.
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 07:28:13
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Tom, I assumed you played tennis, but never expected it to be a daily routine of 2-4 hours per day! Sounds like you get a lot of exercise, just the opposite of me. Thanks for the info on the bikes. I think I'll at least go check them out over the weekend, and who cares if I look geeky and not as sleek as the guys I always see down at the beach in their racing suits?! Let 'em laugh.
How long have you been dealing with TMS? I looked way back and realized I began suffering from it slightly in my 20's with migraines and allergies. I've had other symptoms through the years including IBS, hives, neck and shoulder pain...I fit the TMS profile to a 'T'. It's taken me until this week, 20-some years later, to realize that the source of my pain goes back to my childhood and continues with me as I approach 50. This truly saddens me. I'm the classic perfectionist. Always looking for reassurance that I'm loved, I'm the best employee, best child, best wife, have the best of everything, best life, etc., and that I always do things right. I hate to fail. I hate to make mistakes. I beat myself up every time. My situation at work perpuates TMS because my boss also has feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. She constantly puts people down. Her favorite expression, "He/She's a idiot!" I know that she does this to pull herself up and make herself feel superior. It affects everyone in the dept as they are constantly reminded that they are "less than". It's a tough situation, and unfortunately I can't leave. Well, I could, but I'm waiting for a possible "pay off" next year. There's a good chance she'll be gone. I have too much invested in my company and too much at risk. I have to learn to live with the situation. It's hard enough to deal with the real causes of TMS, but to have to be reminded of them every day is even tougher. Every day's a struggle, but I've got to get through it. If I can deal with this situation, I might just be able to beat TMS. No, let me rephrase that....I will beat TMS!!
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austingary
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 09:19:28
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Can anyone tell me if they've had good results with exercise as a way to release anxiety/stress/rage?
Yes. It is well-known that aerobic exercise, in particular, activates certain brain chemicals that relieve stress.
If you will actually ride that bicycle regularly, hard and long enough to do yourself some good, I think it will help you a great deal. On the other hand, quite often bicycles, exercise bikes, treadmills, etc. are pretty quickly turned into expensive clothes-hangers.
If you can run, you might try running. If not, walk/run until you can. Easiest, least-expensive way to relieve stress symptoms is a 20 to 60 minute run, every other day. |
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tennis tom
USA
4749 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 10:00:04
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Dear JayP,
Gary gave you some good advice about bikes as clothes hangers. I have two bikes, a city bike, that I did ride sucessfully for years and an Italian Masi, the Ferrari of bikes. I hope to ride it someday, when I am more deserving of it but for now it hangs on hooks from the ceiling, above my bed, as a piece of industrial art. I feel it's too dangerous to ride a bike around SF/Southern Marin. The traffic is too much and the polariztion between the cars and the bikes has gotten too great. I don't want to be the guy on the bike in front of the pick-up with duelies who just got pissed off by the group pf bicyclists who won't ride single file and blow through stop signs. In the battle between the bike and the car, the car will always win, even if you're DEAD right.
I'll try to get back to you about other things, but I have to run now. (more acccurately limp), to a national level touranment, where I don't have a ghost of a chance of winning a round. I'm signed up for the singles, the doubles and the mixed. I just look forward to the participation and meeting some great senior players. As for perfectionism, Babe Ruth, one of the greatest home-run hitters of all time, also held the record for mosy strike-outs.
JayP, if you havn't exercised much, Gary's advice to begin with walking and maybe work up to walking/running is an excellent way to begin. Good luck! |
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 11:01:22
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Thanks, Gary and Tom, for your input. While I had good intentions last night to walk, I didn't. Still a bit of fear there. I definitely need to give it a shot this weekend. I usually do 2 miles in about 40 minutes. Not great, but hey, for me it is. Gary, running for me isn't an option, mostly because I hate it, can't do it, and don't want to do it (in that order!!). Walking is also easier on my old joints! Oh, and btw, I have a NordicTrak skiier that used to make a wonderful towel rack, now it's just in the way!
Tom, I now understand why you were concerned about bike accidents...that's a busy area where you live. It's off-season now here in Florida and it's virtually a ghost town early in the morning at the beach until about 10:00 AM. So no worries on that front. Do you play tennis for a living? Sounds like it! Thanks for the Babe Ruth point...I never knew that, and it's a good thing to remember! Hope your hip feels better. I had hip pain (both sides) a while back, then it mysteriously went away. How long has the pain been there? Hope you won something at the match today! Talk to you later, and again, thanks for your advice. |
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Simona
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 19:19:41
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JayP:
Your TMS story is very very similar to mine beginning in your 20's and we are of similar age. I just bought a bike last week and know it will help me physically and mentally and as was mentioned using it consistantly. I also live in Florida (west coast near the beach) and the main challenge is getting the ride in before the almost daily afternoon downpours get me! |
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n/a
21 Posts |
Posted - 06/16/2004 : 20:05:09
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Hi TennisTom -- I too play a lot of tennis -- club and competitive -- but not nearly the hours that you put in.
I got a great deal of mental and emotional perspective on the "game" from reading "Inner Tennis" by Tim Gallway. My game improved greatly and it gave me a new prespective on how I viewed my fellow players and opponents. I can even play mixed-doubles with my husband without wanting to file for divorce. |
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 07:06:32
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Simona,
What type of bike do you ride and do you have any issues with the position you're in when riding? I agree, Florida in summer is a challenge weather-wise. |
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austingary
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 11:19:21
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While I had good intentions last night to walk, I didn't. Still a bit of fear there.
Here are some suggestions for your walking routine:
(1) At first, walk very slowly, taking very short strides. You can increse the length of the strides and the speed of your walking gradually, as time goes by and you get better.
(2) Start out walking for 15 minutes, 3X/day. Later, as it becomes more comfortable, you can decrease the frequency and increase the time until, eventually, you are walking for 40 minutes to an hour once a day. But that could be a year or more in the future. Put no time limits on it -- just respond to how you feel.
(3) When you walk, allow your abdominal muscles to relax and keep them relaxed. The idea is to walk with your pelvis in a neutral position, not pulled up either in the back or the front. Try bending your knees a little and walking like Groucho Marx to get the feel of it. A loose, relaxed pelvis is what you want.
I sometimes imagine my body being held up by a string that passes up through the center of my head. I pull myself up by that string, then let myself fall down along it, so that my knees bend slightly, my pelvis relaxes and my butt drops. All the muscles in the pelvic, ab and butt area just drop into relaxation. Then I walk. Try that.
(4) Discipline yourself to get out and do those walks every day, come hell or high water.
I did it this way when I had had to stop running and even walking was extremely painful. Slowly but surely I moved from these slow, painful walks to normal walking, then, gradually, back to running. Now I am running 4-5 miles, 2-3 days per week again, with no problems.
Careful about making negative statements to yourself or others about your joints, exercise you hate or "can't do", that sort of thing. When you formalize those thoughts like that, you tend to nail them down. Better to just let your exercise and your tastes and abilities in exercise to vary, over time, naturally, as they will as your condition changes, as it will. Everything changes; that is the only constant in life. |
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 14:26:10
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Austingary,
Thanks for the great advice! I think I could easily do 15 minutes on Sat. and Sun., so that's what I'll shoot for. Your plan makes sense and definitely reduces the fear factor. I will watch the negative comments...who knows, maybe I will run one of these days! |
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Sadiesue
19 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 17:33:25
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Here is an image I like to use for walking. I think using images is easier than trying to hold your muscles a certain way.
Imagine that your walking movement powers a bicycle chain that moves up the front of the body and down the back. You can also use the image of an energy flow or a conveyor belt. Now try imagining yourself running or walking to power the bicycle chain. Keep the chain moving smoothly up the front and down the back.
Maybe even just start with 5 minute walks. Come on, you have 5 minutes to walk, don't you? You can't hurt yourself with a leisurely 5 minute stroll! And then, once you are out the door, you'll probably go for longer.
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Simona
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 18:47:37
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JayP:
I checked out a few bike shops and really didn't feel I needed to spend a ton of money and ended up getting a Schwinn at Wal-Mart. It suits my purpose and I am enjoying it. I have the most often described TMS symptoms of lower back pain, right butt pain and sciatic down my right leg. Walking, which I always loved pains me but bike riding does not. I am hoping once I get moving on my bike to graduate back to walking and then I hope, running. |
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austingary
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 18:59:44
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I think I could easily do 15 minutes on Sat. and Sun., so that's what I'll shoot for.
Well, anything is better than nothing, but what I'm suggesting is a 15 minute walk, 3X/day. Every day, not just on the weekends. Now, you don't have to be the Walking Nazi; sometimes you will walk 10 minutes, some days you will just walk 2X. But 15 minutes, 3X/day is what you want, at least for the near future.
Short strides, very slow, about 15 minutes, 3X/day.
This doesn't require getting into your athletic clothes. You can even walk around inside your house, even around one room or an office. But outside is more pleasant, weather and other circumstances permitting.
As a general rule, you should put fitness first on your priority list. Your walks or your runs or your gym workouts or bicycle workouts or attention to your diet -- whatever -- they need to come first, so you re-arrange the rest of your life, as much as possible, including your work, to accommodate them.
Since we are biological creatures, putting your biological health first only makes sense. As they say, without your health, what do you have? |
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austingary
USA
95 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 19:10:46
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Walking, which I always loved pains me but bike riding does not.
But walking is an age-old remedy for sciatica while bike-riding is not. If you walk very slowly and take very short strides and don't walk for very long at one time, you should not get much pain. And slowly but surely, it will subside.
Don't be impatient: it could take quite a while for your sciatica to fade away (or not). It is known for its tenaciousness, just as walking is known as the primary cure for it.
Work on your TMS, of course, because that's certainly part of the problem. And you are very likely keeping your lower back / abs / pelvic girdle muscles very tense, which may come out of the same internal mental "tension" that causes TMS.
In fact, some people think -- and I agree with them -- that the primary way TMS works is by causing you to unconsciously hold your muscles tense until they cramp up into knots. So, you can attack that from either end, the "tension" end or the tense muscles.
I am fond of Pete Egoscue's book "Pain Free". Since you are interested in exercise anyway, you might check it out. I do 20 minutes a day of exercise from that book and it's been time very well spent. |
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Connie
USA
11 Posts |
Posted - 06/17/2004 : 20:16:18
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quote:
As a general rule, you should put fitness first on your priority list. Your walks or your runs or your gym workouts or bicycle workouts or attention to your diet -- whatever -- they need to come first, so you re-arrange the rest of your life, as much as possible, including your work, to accommodate them.
Since we are biological creatures, putting your biological health first only makes sense. As they say, without your health, what do you have?
Wow, this struck a chord with me, austingary! It makes so much sense and I want to begin to live that way. Having chronic fatigue syndrome, I've put fitness on the back burner and gravitated toward sedentery activities. It's easy to sit at the computer when I don't really feel up to being more active. With the inspiration you've given me and some planning, I could probably put fitness first--well, after eating and showering at least--and not use up all the energy I have on more sedentery pursuits. My doctor told me a few weeks ago it would be good for me to start "exercising." That word is loaded with negative emotions for me, so I liked your use of "fitness." I came up with the same word myself recently in trying to think of a more pleasant word to substitute. |
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JayP
USA
54 Posts |
Posted - 06/18/2004 : 07:57:43
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Thanks, austingary! I could easily do 15 minutes right here where I work 2X/day. Then, of course, there's always the mall! Shopping is my sport of choice, so I think I'll head to the mall tonight and walk for 15 minutes straight before stopping to shop. The only downside, of course, is the impact to my.....wallet!!
I agree with your statement about tensing our muscles up. I've discovered that is my biggest problem. What kind of stretching should I do before walking, or is it necessary? |
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Exercise
