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Thursday, June 17, 2010

Linky Love: Does Fibromyalgia Contribute to Clumsiness?

trip and fall down carefullyImage by jimmiehomeschoolmom via Flickr


Tonight (Wednesday) I twisted my ankle and fell stepping down from the bonus room behind the garage to the ground. Yes, this is the second time. The last time I fell doing this I broke my foot. This time, well I'm not sure what I've done just yet. What I do know is that this is getting ridiculous.

So in between feeling really lousy with pain and waiting for the inevitable fibro-flare to kick in, I seem to have uncontrollable giggles when I picture in my mind what I must have looked like falling. Robert was there and didn't actually see me fall, just looked over and saw me on the ground ... again. Then he just stood there looking at me while I cursed and brushed myself off.

Oh, to experience the sheer absurdity of all of this. Maybe I hit my head this time. Or maybe it's Schadenfreude kicking in, big time. O.K., this has got to stop. I'm probably not going to be laughing about this tomorrow (Thursday) when I wake up in some much more pain.

I thought I'd do some research to find out if having fibromyalgia increases your chances of tripping, wobbling, slipping, twisting, falling and bumping into things. Here is what I found out:
  1. Adrienne over at the Fibromyalgia and CFS blog at About.com says yes. Apparently recent research presented at the American Pain Society's 29th Annual Scientific Meeting showed just that. The conclusion was that people with fibromyalgia need to do balance exercises to prevent falls. She also took a poll at her site and 82% of readers indicated that "clumsiness" is an issue for them.
  2. WebMD cited the same research in their article People With Fibromyalgia More Prone to Falls.
  3. Brain Werner, MPT provides a lot of information about balance problems in people with fibromyalgia in his article The FM Balancing Act at the National Fibromyalgia Association website. Apparently, more people with fibromyalgia go to a physical therapist for balance training than treatment of their fibromyalgia symptoms. Who knew?
  4. Over at the ProHealth website, you'll find a reprint of an article by exercise physiologist Dr. Sharon Clark about exercise and fibromyalgia from the Oregon Health & Science University’s Fibromyalgia Information Foundation, the folks that did the balance research Adrienne and WebMD quoted above. She gives several tips in this article, but follow the link to the www.myalgia.com website (best viewed in Internet Explorer) for even more information. I have my eye on the DVDs, especially the Strength and Balance one, since apparently this truly is a big issue for me.
  5. But then I found this scientific abstract over at PubMed.gov: Tilt vibratory exercise improves the dynamic balance in fibromyalgia: A randomized controlled trial. Before, when I was healthy, I wanted to buy a home elliptical exercise machine. Now, based on the findings of this study, I so want to buy a home whole body vibration exercise machine. It looks like the lazy person's ultimate exercise machine, but for me, anything that can help with my balance and fitness that doesn't flare my fibromyalgia would be a plus. I wonder if I can get a referral from my doctor to a physical therapy studio that offers this kind of treatment so I can try it out first...
So that concludes this trip around the Internet to answer the question Does fibromyalgia contribute to clumsiness? Hope you have learned as much as I have about this topic. If I buy the Balance and Strength DVD or try out the whole body vibration machine, I will write a review so you all can be the first ones to know.

Trips, slips, wobbles and falls? Does fibromyalgia make you more clumsy? Let me know when you leave me a comment.
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2 comments

Anonymous said...

Selena, You have a little something waiting for you on my blog today. I hope it adds a smile to your face!
Love ya!
Jolene

Anonymous said...

Selena, This post is kind of funny! I have been a clumsy ox since I was a kid. I had skinned knees year round and sprained, fractured and broke bones on a regular basis. If it happened now, the police would be questioning my parents! Two years ago this summer, I had a bad spill, and twisted my knee and messed up my ankle at the same time. The problem was...it was opposite legs. I had a brace on my leg for the bad knee and my foot was taped and wrapped on the other side. A few months ago I fell in the driveway and twisted my foot. We were going to my neices house and I was carrying a bottle of wine. I went flying...my purse ended up anout 10 feet away from me, BUT I DIDN"T DROP THE WINE! My guys are still teasing me about that one. By all means, hurt yourself...but don't drop the wine!
xomo