I am dying to start doing some exercising but my neurosurgeon says nothing that increases my heart rate. I can't walk from my car to a store without increasing my heart rate… It has been a year and I have gained 20lbs. I am a petite woman so that 20lbs is really affecting me… besides the standard vanity issues, I have lots of joint pain and poor mobility. The littlest thing causes me muscle pain.

I walked my daughter to school, maybe 2 blocks away and I felt drunk by the time I got home. I couldn't get off the couch for an hour afterwards.

I just want to be able to do something, even if it is sitting and lifting small albs weights so I can try to strengthen my upper body. I know it will greatly help my mood. I also wonder if the lack of exercise for the last year is adding to the difficulty breathing and heart rate increase whenever I try doing something small like climbing the stairs. I know under normal circumstances if you are not active being active kicks your butt!

Does anyone have any experience with light exercise?

What about gentle yoga or isometrics?
Floor exercises & stretching?

Where do you get the muscle pain , all over??
Or in neck, shoulders, upper body mostly?

I'm assuming you have had head & c spine x rays & MRIs already and nothing concerning was found?

The pain is mainly in my back, hips, feet. I think it is related to the 20lb weight gain and lack of exercise.

I have had a CT scan only, nothing else. My injury was just to my head.

I and many others disagree with the no increase in HR concept. A minor increase is fine, as long as it does not cause a drastic increase in symptoms. A slow, gentle walk should be OK.

What is your resting heart rate ?

I had the same thing... I was told a month ago I could start walking... I had to start with 2 houses down and back... I am now up at 1.5 miles... I have an HR monitor... I know when my HR gets to 120 because I start feeling drunk and get to that dangerous brain fog zone... maybe try the small things and work your way up... but my HR monitor has been great!

I have no idea! I guess I should figure that out.

Maybe I should start out small again, I really feel like I need to do something.

I have a hard time understanding how ALL these people with all these PCS symptoms do not know what their resting pulse (heart rate) and blood pressure is. It should be the first thing we learn about our bodies. A home blood pressure/heart rate kit cost $10 to $30.

My pulse can be as low as 60, as high as 95. My BP is usually 116/76 or there-abouts. When exercising, my pulse can hit 160.

When my brain is acting up, my BP can hit 200/155 or higher.

Knowing these things helps me deal with and often resolve the cause or at least reduce the high BP. Because my blood pressure can spike, I have some emergency prescription BP meds in the cabinet.

I have found that a portable heart rate monitor has been an invaluable tool for introducing and increasing exercise. Mine has a wristband and chest band (Polar), but there are also just wristband ones.

Before I had the monitor, I could never really figure out why some walks would bring on the symptoms while others wouldn't. You use it to determine what you can tolerate without symptoms, and then ever so slowly begin increasing the heart rate. I did it in three week increments.

Restorative Yoga was a bit help to me. I really enjoyed it and I felt stretched out afterwards. It is also very relaxing and helps de stress.

I have issues with not being able to do any core strengthening activities. It gives me an immediate headache. However my Occupational therapist suggest a simple exercise, which is to get out of a chair without supporting yourself with anything, I do this 5 times. It does sometimes give me a headache.

I have also tried aqua fit, it works as long as you go at a slow pace, I do not keep up with the class and modify some of the exercises but it is doable. I also stand at the side and hold on to the side of the pool because any exercise that involves standing on one foot has me off balance.

The issue with the Yoga and aqua fit is that you have to get there and just the energy etc involved with getting up, getting dressed, transportation to and from the location can seem like a lot all on its own.

Good luck I feel you pain. I am lucky (if you want to call it that) my nausea keeps me from eating and although not at an ideal weight I have not put on extra weight, but it is quite common and I have seen it mentioned on this forum often that people put on weight due to the inactivity.