Physical therapy for fatigued muscles?

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Hopefullyyours

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Hi! Does anyone here have fatigued muscles and get physical therapy? I dont have much pain just persistant weakness that feels like concrete is in my legs etc. I got one p.t. and feel heavier than b4! So, if the muscles are already heavy n fatigued, do you get physical therapy on them, even when its makin em worse and harder to get out off the couch in legs and other muscles!?
 
Ps they had me do an exercise with my shoulders and now they are so heavy!! Even back. Can u relate
 
If PT makes you feel worse, don't do it. It sounds as if it is not be the right thing for you. I hope you find something else that helps.
 
See the other threads on this: Wrong kind of PT...
 
I have a very similar issue. It's not muscle "weakness," it's fatigue. I can still lift something, but then I get exhausted afterward and have horrible soreness. Even my neck is sore from holding up my own head :eek: I have found that foam rolling and massage are the best ways to help ease the fatigue. It hurts like a ***** at first, but if you keep up with it, it gets less painful. My PT thought that I had to build up my strength, but that didn't help the fatigue. My massage therapist also recommends being more hydrated (eye roll). It might not HELP but it wouldn't hurt.

I've also heard magnesium malate helps with fatigue, but I didn't notice a huge difference personally
 
I have a very similar issue. It's not muscle "weakness," it's fatigue. I can still lift something, but then I get exhausted afterward and have horrible soreness.
I have found that many practitioners, especially physical therapists, do not understand the difference between muscle weakness and fatigue, whether it is general fatigue or specific muscle fatigue.

Likely this is because their training is all about helping people to become strong again after an injury or a surgery, and they really don't have training in dealing with people with chronic fatigue issues. I don't blame them for not knowing, as you cannot know what you haven't learned yet, but I have made a point of letting them know, when necessary, that there is a difference here, and that while i completely respect their knowledge and expertise, they may not know as much about what my body needs as I do in this one particular case. Usually if you do that very politely and calmly they will listen.

I also find that if your project an attitude of really wanting to get better and willingness to try hard at what you are able to do, they will be more likely to believe you and start to learn more about fibromyalgia.
 
I find “fatigue” a very vague term, so I don’t use it myself, because I’ve found exact analysis helps find triggers and relief and explain docs & physios better.
For the (A) tiredness part I use
1. dozy, either getting up 4-8x per night or in stints in the day, when my mind is awake, but I may want/need to sleep,
2. drowsy, when both mind & body are tired and
3. numb, in my head, due more to meds like amitriptyline and CBD which I have stopped taking coz of that.
I also separate
4. itchy eyes from tiredness, because sometimes that suggests to me I’m tired altho my body doesn’t (dry eyes), sometimes it does,
part of my tiredness I’ve been realizing/testing the last few weeks is the
5. feverishness-feeling, which I thought was separate, but I now believe is not, because I now nap successfully then, and make my overall sleep more effective
For (B) the missing energy I have
6. quick exhaustibility (energy spurts, I’m an odd one there)
7. then outright exhaustion of the muscles (like you kait I still have my full muscle strength and have had similar discussions)
8. feebleness, dullness, in mind & body,
( C) a deep ‘fatigued’ pain
9. the Big Ache, due to overdoing it (both different to the sore muscles I used to have),
plus D) mentally
10. the inner fatigue, which I think a lot of people have, esp. with ME/CFS, may be sort of listless and have to do with depressiveness/depression, but I only seldom have. I also guess
11. brain fog belongs in here too.

I think what most people mean with fatigue is my #7 & 9(?)
 
Everyone has a different connotation, I suppose. for me Fatigue is what I call it when I simply have no energy at all, not to read or watch a film, not to think clearly, not to talk, not to do anything but lie on the couch, and even holding my head up, let alone getting up on my feet, feels like an insurmountable task. It may be accompanied by pain or may not. Sometimes when that hits me and I absolutely have to do something, like feed the dogs, I will actually crawl on the floor to do it, occasionally lying down, because I truly cannot get to my feet. It's crazy to feel that way when you have been as active and energetic as I always have been. I am glad it doesn't get that bad very often.
 
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