I had to google what HMS was - and came up with an interesting website that might give yu some directionL
Fitness Programmes
To improve your general fitness you need a programme that addresses all the areas of fitness. The exercises need to be interesting and specific to your needs. Your programme should be modified and monitored regularly and should be performed at least three times per week.
A comprehensive exercise programme should include the following:
Posture
Good posture reduces the stress placed on joints, reducing wear and tear. It also improves the available range of movement of joints, which helps to maintain normal joint range and muscle length. Good posture increases lung capacity, aiding oxygen transport and nutrition around the body. Upright open posture allows more room in the abdominal cavity for the internal organs to function optimally. Posture also affects your frame of mind….and your frame of mind can affect your posture, ie, when you are well, feeling happy and on top of things, posture tends to be upright and open. In contrast, people who are depressed and in chronic pain, often sit or stand slumped.
Breathing
reathing is part and parcel of Life…the exchange of gasses in and out of the body and in and out of the each cell is what keeps us alive. Physiotherapists and other health professionals use breathing techniques to help reduce pain. For example, they are used in childbirth to help control the pain of muscle contraction. Relaxed diaphragmatic breathing helps to promote relaxation and improve oxygen supply to the working tissues. The supply of oxygen and blood to the working muscles is of paramount importance when exercising. People with HMS often have pain caused by spasm, learning breathing and relaxation techniques helps to reduce some of that pain.
Aerobic conditioning - For heart and lung functioning e.g. continuous walking, cycling, running, swimming and deep water running* etc.
Aerobic exercise, is exercise that is performed for more than two or three minutes. This type of exercise uses oxygen and glycogen as its main fuel sources. Being aerobically trained helps to; regulate hormones and blood sugar levels, improves the endurance capacity of muscles including the heart, aids digestion and improves circulation of oxygen and nutrients to the body. Aerobic exercise improves your stamina. (*Deep water running/walking will taught at the forth coming residential weekend..)
Muscular Strength, Power and Endurance
These exercises help the muscles to provide sustained support for the spine and other joints.
Flexibility (stretching)
These exercises help to maintain consistent muscle length and maintain joint range. In the case of people with hypermobile joints, often some muscle groups are long and others are short creating imbalances and altered joint mechanics.
Co-ordination/Body awareness (proprioception) e.g. wobble board, half roll and Swiss ball exercises.
Exercises in this category help to improve recognition of where you and your body are in space. They also help you to synchronise limb and trunk movements, reducing the risk of dislocation, subluxation and “tripping over” injuries.
Who Should Prescribe your Exercise Programme?
The most appropriate person to advise you on an exercise program of this nature is a physiotherapist who has knowledge of this condition. Even better if you can exercise regularly under supervision with a group. Group classes provide support and motivation. Government funded and Private Community fitness groups for people with medical conditions are run by physiotherapists very successfully in Australia. Hopefully we will see more groups of this nature available for people here in the UK.
Have you checked with your doctor for a referral on a physiotherapist - since you have a medical condition, I'd be very cautious about taking advice offered by well meaning strangers on an internet forum
