When is exercise therapy recommended for fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia can involve widespread pain, fatigue, unrefreshing sleep, sensitivity to touch, and difficulty concentrating. Exercise is introduced according to your baseline function, sleep, pain pattern, other health conditions, and daily demands. Options may include gentle walking, cycling, water exercise, mobility, balance, and light strengthening. The useful target is consistent participation and improved function; a session does not need to feel intense to be worthwhile. A flare may call for a smaller dose, slower pace, or recovery day.

Start with an activity you can repeat reliably, even if the starting dose feels modest. Warm up gently, use pacing, and increase time or effort in small steps only after your body has adjusted. Track sleep, fatigue, pain, and function rather than judging the programme by pain during one session. A physiotherapist can adapt exercises for tender areas, dizziness, joint problems, or low stamina and can pair movement with breathing and relaxation strategies.

Seek urgent care for chest pain, severe breathlessness, fainting, sudden weakness, or a new neurological symptom. Contact your clinician if activity causes an unusually prolonged flare, repeated falls, severe dizziness, or a new focal joint swelling, because another problem may need assessment.

What activity level matches my current stamina and sleep? How can I tell a normal adjustment response from an excessive flare? Which symptoms or other conditions should be checked before I increase walking, water exercise, or strengthening?