I can't imagine doing exercise during a flare.
I rest and do as little as possible .
Hope you get better soon!

Melissa, I agree with littlemac.. If having a flare, it is important to rest as much as you can. I know you are teaching overseas but a doctor should have a plan of what you do in a flare e.g. short burst of prednisone. A flare of several weeks is worrying - perhaps you need to
have your medication evaluated / changed.
Do hope you will be feeling better soon.
Gentle hugs

Yup, that is what I did today on Buudha's birthday - sidelined! I did see the Dr yesterday. The meds she gave me two weeks ago ( I asked then for Prednisone but she wanted me to try something less potent) didn't bring down the inflammation, so finally she agreed to write out a presc for 10 mg of Prednisone, plus switching me from Enbrel to Humira. I'm not a sporty person, but I know it's important to get some exercise and not gain weight.
I have an appt with my USA Dr next month - looking forward to a Dr who has been a supportive, good listener - not just looking at blood tests.

There is no way on earth I could "exercise" during a flare. I can barely walk with the aid of a cane!

I rest, use heating pads, take hot baths, and rest some more, and even all that can be exhausting!

I'm with everyone else, I pretty much just rest. I do a little slow walking just to give my muscles some activity, but that's about it. Then once it's gone, I ease back into my normal routine. It's a lot of up and down, but doing too much just makes the flare worse.

No way could I exercise during a flare....I do well to get out of bed and shower.

Hi Melissa - I'll take the minority side of this argument. After 12 years of dealing with RA, my personal experience has been that if I waited until I stopped flaring to exercise, I'd never do anything. I'm in perpetual flare; it's just a question of degrees and what hurts. On a scale of 0-100 pain-wise, I don't have any days below 20. Taking too long of a break (over a couple of weeks) can also become a vicious circle - stop exercising and you lose mobility. When you lose mobility, you feel less like exercising, and so on until one day you wake up and your function is compromised. I've seen what loss of mobility does to people as they age, and I'd like to put that off as long as possible.

So, rest and recovery are great to a point, but your muscles and aerobic fitness lose a large percentage of their strength after 30 days of non-use. I push through minor to significant pain (up to about an 90 on the scale) with adjustments to my meds (10 mgs of prednisone, for example, rather than my usual daily 5 mgs) and pain meds afterwards as needed. I also have an off-label prescription for Concerta when fatigue is overwhelming. Icing and heat, especially a jacuzzi or hot bath, feels great afterwards. I work out in the afternoon and evening when I generally feel less flared. I find that any discomfort I feel from the workout is balanced out by the "exercise buzz" I get from endorphins. And if that's not enough, a nice glass of wine or two helps - you've earned it, after all!

I also have a prescription for physical therapy and consult with a sports medicine doctor. They've been a great source of support for me - when my rheumy would tell me to limit my exercise due to flares, my PT and sports medicine dr would say "push yourself to do a moderate workout, pay attention to correct form and treat the pain afterwards." This has proved to be the best advice I've gotten post-diagnosis. I now walk and hike between 1.5 and 3 miles, bike ride, lift weights and use resistance bands 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes and have done so since August. Though I may be sore after workouts, I feel my overall health has improved. I'm determined not to let RA take more of my fitness than it already has. I know some folks have had success with yoga and stretching too, and I'd like to try that at some point.

I know you're right Trinaunz....I do try to tell myself that moving will make me feel better. Mind over matter sometimes.

Thanks for the advice, Trinaunz. I also have Fibromyalgia, so inactivity does make my back and shoulder muscles more tight. I certainly don't want to lose mobility either. I'll have to ask about Concerta - the fatigue is simply overwhelming right now, but I need to break the cycle. Perhaps I'll try going to Water aerobics next week, even if it means just simple movements in the water.

While I might agree with the "use it or lose it' in theory, it cannot be generalized. Not only do we all undoubtedly have very different pain thresholds, and different types of flares, it can also depend on where the pain is located.

I'd say I've had RA probably for 13 years, undiagnosed until recently, and when I'd flare in years past, I could still walk or do gentle yoga, pushing through my fatigue, etc. - and I'd do what I could.

However, my current flare is severe, and overwhelmingly in my inner hip/groin area (bilateral), I cannot walk without a cane, and searing hot stabbing sensations can come unannounced, out of nowhere, making me crumple to the ground.

I can barely put one foot in front of the other without searing pain, and even when I'm "at rest" it is a constant ache (even with pain meds).

My doctor strongly advised me to not exercise. My PT agrees, and my current prescribed PT is basically for time a hot whirlpool - at least until we figure out how to get me the heck out of this flare.

Any exercise would be like trying to jog with two sprained ankles or broken feet - literally impossible.

A great quote about this hot topic is from RAwarrior.com, a wonderful, very informative site about RA:

"I learned about protecting my joints by not doing things that caused pain or stress. That sounded very important to me, so I printed off lots of pages about it. Later, when I began to hear how some RA-ers are pressured to exercise, it struck me as odd. The two ideas are in direct conflict. I cannot protect my inflamed joints from use at the same time that I am using them to exercise."

I highly recommend the full article, here is the link:

http://rawarrior.com/should-rheumatoid-arthritis-patients-exercise/

This site has TONS of great info on managing RA, and a whole slew of articles regarding exercise. I highly recommend it. : )

Thanks ScarlettRA for the link to good posts on the topic. I feel less guilty after reading them. I'm feeling better than yesterday - hope it's the Prednisone kicking in. On the positive note, I got some needed paperwork, coursework, and reading done. That way, once I do feel better, I can engage in more activities.

Hi Melissa - that's awesome that you are feeling a bit better! The Prednisone did wonders for me (for awhile) - I was able to do much more physically (no problems walking, for example) while I was on it at first.

Good for you for actively seeking info - knowledge is power. ; )

Please don't EVER feel guilty about the exercise thing. As you probably read on the RAwarrior site, it can do far more harm than help with many cases of RA.

Best wishes for you to rapidly feel better!

Stress is what triggers my flares and swimming is the best thing for me to relieve stress, so when I get a flare that isn't so debilitating that I can't drive, I go to the pool and swim up to 2 miles. When I'm done, the stress is substantially gone and so is the flare. It also tires me out so I sleep better at night.

Ohhhh how I wish I had a pool! Preferably with a hot tub next to it, lol.

When I am in a flare, I do not exercise or even think about it. Pain med, rest in bed, heat to area, warm room, and elevate legs. My legs and knees are usually what bothers me the most. I try if I am not exhausted at work to walk a bit on my lunch hour. Sometimes I may just walk three blocks to the park and sit in the sun. Most of the time after working a full week, I am exhausted.
The link to RA warrior that RAScarlett placed in this thread is excellent and so worth reading. Thank you RAScarlett!!