I was actively taking four or five Orangetheory classes a week when my first symptoms arose that led to my diagnosis of MS. So, after I was diagnosed, I immediately asked my neurologist what to do about my Orangetheory classes. I originally thought the classes might have triggered my MS, so I was worried about going back to the classes. My neurologist told me that it is very important to exercise with MS and lift weights—not like crazy heavy weights, but ultimately, he said I needed to use my muscles consistently. It helps to ensure proper reflexes and movement.
Basically, one of the most important treatments for MS is exercise. It can actually lessen your MS symptoms, and it obviously improves your strength in your arms and legs, which betters your muscle movement and mobility. Also, exercising can help give you better control over your bowel and bladder functions, which is sometimes considered an MS symptom. I definitely have to pee more often since being diagnosed with MS, so being able to control that better is truly beneficial to my life. Exercise can also lessen fatigue—another MS symptom. Lastly, exercise is good for the mind and brain; it helps with memory and cognitive function generally. It is neuroprotective, which means it protects nerve cells against damage, degeneration, or impairment of nerve function, which every MS patient you will ever meet, will be like, sign me up for that. Our nerves and neurons are a mess, so anything to protect that from deteriorating more sounds too good to be true. A lot of people with MS also suffer from depression, and as you know, exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.
So, my neurologist told me it was fine to continue my Orangetheory classes and to just listen to my body. If things became too much or I didn’t feel up to it, he told me to just stop and take a break. I ended up taking Orangetheory classes for over a year and a half. I stopped because it just started to become too much on my knees. Because of this, I ended up looking into what are the best exercises for people with MS, and I found out that aerobic exercise and strength and resistance training are the best. Aerobic exercise gets your heart rate up and strength and resistance training help to maintain and improve muscle strength. I decided then to get a regular gym membership and join a barre studio. This new regimen helped my knee recover and was a better pace for me overall.
One thing to know about MS is that becoming overheated exacerbates your MS symptoms. Hot yoga is something you should not do if you have MS; basically, hot anything is not a good plan and I do not recommend. I remember one time during an Orangetheory class I got so overheated that I had to jump off the treadmill and go outside for a second, because I was starting to get sharp pains in my hands and legs and tingling in my fingers and toes. Your symptoms really do all come back for a hot second, but when that happens just stop what you are doing and go to a cool place. Drinking cold water also helps bring your inner temperature back down to normal. That’s the one thing to be mindful of while exercising, but you shouldn’t let this deter you from exercising. The value in exercising far outweighs the bad. Just don’t push yourself further than what you are capable of doing. It’s a marathon not a sprint, and we are exercising with MS for overall good health maintenance not to win the Olympics or championships.
Always,
Taylor
