Member News – May 2016
Fibromyalgia Association of Sweden
On Fibromyalgia Awareness Day the Fibromyalgia Association of Sweden arranged a lecture on the topic “Motion for less Pain”. Lecturers were Dr. Rolf Andersson, pain specialist, and Desirée Nordström, FM-patient and training instructor.
Rolf talked about the increasing amount of research on fibromyalgia and exercise that has been done during the past few years. Research has shown that exercising is a very effective intervention method for people suffering from fibromyalgia, and for a short period of time after a training session you can even be free symptom free.
Desirée is a former patient of Dr. Andersson’s, and in 2009 she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She told her story about how she got her life back when she started going to the gym. Today she works as a training instructor, and want to inspire people to get started with their exercising. She shared 3 tips on how to get started with exercising:
• Change your mindset: You have to get up from the “negative pit”, and start thinking positive! Say to yourself: “This is going to lead to something good!”
• Set a goal: This goal is not about you being able to run a marathon next year, but instead walking around the block once a week, for example. Once you have started you will notice that it feels good, and rewarding, and you want to continue.
• Start light: Start light, and increase the amount of exercising at your own pace.