What Are the Best Exercises for a Person with Fibromyalgia?

 Fibromyalgia is a poorly understood medical condition where the person has diffuse pain in numerous areas of their body.  It was previously thought that exercise might worsen fibromyalgia symptoms.  However recent studies have shown that low impact, mind-body exercises such as yoga, pilates and tai chi may improve fibromyalgia symptoms.  

If you are not into mind body exercise, not a problem because a medical study published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitations found that subjects with fibromyalgia who did 45-60 minutes of aerobic exercise combined with strength and flexibility training had decreased pain and improved mood when compared to a control group that just did aerobic exercise only.  These subjects only did their exercise program twice weekly to see these gains. 

It is important to note that it has been shown that people with fibromyalgia do best when they exercise at their own pace.

The information for this article was taken from Arthritis Today July/August 2012