CFS and sport

Hi conor

what sort of sports are you participating in and what is your age.

how did you make cfs recovery

I hope that you are able to play sports again sometime soon. I do know some people who were able to go back to weekly hockey games, they were 25-35 years old.  Most of the people I know personally are happy to be able to walk or swim in moderation. I wish you the very best

I also use to be very active before I was hit with CFS and you may find my story encouraging but it all depends what sport you want to play, I golf and cycle and its the later I have had real success with recently.

I use to boom and bust because I would use up all my energy and then pay for it for days afterwards. I eventually worked up to 18 holes of golf because its stop start and I use an electric trolley and when I didn't feel good I didn't play and I did that quite a few times.

Now what I really missed was cycling I use to ride off road, now that was out but road cycling was a new possibility. I discussed it with my GP and she agreed that a paced programme was the way forward using a heart rate monitor. Initially I went out on the road for rides but the demands were too great so I moved indoors on a trainer where I could control my heart rate and effort. I started out with 5 mins very easy just spinning the pedals, then 10, 15, 20, you get the idea. Eventually I managed 30 mins indoors after about 7 months with no adverse affect and went outside using a lightwieght road bike for 20mins.  I have been on this slow programme for some 15 months now and last week I managed 18.5 miles on the road with an average speed of almost 15mph, to say I was delighted given that I am not far from retirement is an understatement.

Like pro cyclists, there is a big rest period between rides and I carefully monitor myself using a cycle computer but it is working. Some days it requires huge will power to get on the bike, I go saying only 30 mins and other days I say, not today.  For me pacing has been the key and I was encouraged when my GP told me about a patient who has got back into serious physical activity after CFS.

I don't think I would try this with a team sport where the demands are unknown, otherwise best of luck.

 

hi conor. think it's wise not to PUSH yourself back into sports before your body is ready for it. once one has had CFS/ME, that predispositin remains & can reassert itself if the body is over stretched too soon. go easy on yourself and listen to your body. often we are at our most vulnerable when we feel at our best.

take care

Caitlin

I did make it back to competitive sport after my first bout of ME/CFS however 4 years later due to conditions at work i replapsed and now am not training at all. I did do it once so believ it is possible. WKnight has it right pacing is essential (i also coach soam well experienced) But i got back to sprinting 100 and 200m was planning on adding in 400m again but... pacing and realising that on a bad day you dont do it no matter what your firm plans may be ...