I’ve never been a sports fan. Not even as a teenager, in high school I was called the teddy bear, I was plump and with a big derriere, I would run 200 meters in 5 minutes and then fall flat. Even then I had the muscles of a malnourished fly, just like now. But I always liked walking for miles at a moderate pace and on flat surfaces. If I go to the mountains I remember the teddy bear from high school, with my tongue sticking out because of the effort.
Someone asked me if it is advisable for us, those with spondylitis, to do sports. I answered that it’s not only recommended, it’s mandatory, sedentary lifestyle and extra pounds only increase the pain and ankylosis. Of course, if there are other conditions, such as hernias, the physical therapist should be consulted to see what type of movement should be avoided. If we have pain should we exercise? I’ll tell you how I do it: on the days when I’m in pain I do a set of exercises that I made up for myself, a mixture of yoga and kineto for about 30-40 minutes (it depends on how fast I do them), and after doing them, the pains are significantly relieved. If I do them daily, those pains don’t even appear anymore. But laziness is big, what can I say?
I remember in the early years of the disease I was in excruciating pain and was afraid to move too much for fear of exacerbating it. Now I wish there was someone to tell me, “don’t sit, get out of bed, lie on the carpet and move! Even if you’re just arching like a worm, move! It’s going to hurt like hell for the first few minutes, but then you’ll feel better. Before you sleep and after you wake up do some stretching so you can sleep well at night and not be a stiff, grumpy bear all day.”
Nor is it good to get too tired. The body breaks down and the muscles around the painful area stiffen as if shouting: pause, massage, warm water, rest! Many times I would go stiff in walking because I was straining the joint, it was defending itself as best as it could, poor thing, and it took a few punches or blows with the side of the palm to get the muscle moving.
The most indicated are the sports that do not put too much stress on the bones and joints, such as cycling and swimming. Avoid those that involve hopping, such as tennis and running. But it depends on many factors: financial and time possibilities, the evolution of the disease, other health conditions, age, etc. It’s important to move, no matter how you do it: gardening, walk to work, run with the kids in the park, climb the stairs at the block, walk the dog… Move. Man is factory-made to move 16 hours a day and sleep 8 hours. If we sit stiffly in the chair for hours it should not be surprising that we have pain. We should remember that. And that along with medication, diet and the right mindset, exercise is part of the indicated lifestyle for a person with spondylitis.