Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Sporting ASKickers How does exercise help you?

I would have to agree with some other commenters. That advice is purely situational and you anyways have to listen to your body. When I'm not in a flare and have mild symptoms I've found stretching and moderate exercise feels good, but a month or so ago I was in a moderate flare and I felt terrible after working out. My breathing was terrible and I also have knee problems associated with my AS so doing regular cardio exercise was nixed by my rhuemy. I believe someone also mentioned that AS pain is generally worse at night and in the morning (when in a moderate flare I can't even function until after 11 am).

All that being said I have to stress again to listen to your body, if it's painful, stop, and talk to your physical therapist and/ doctor about whether that activity is right for you. GOOD LUCK!

Hi all,

I just posted in the "Helpful Tips" forum about how pushups and pullups have been the ONLY thing that have worked for me to reduce my pain in the past few years:

https://www.kickas.org/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=508209#Post508209

I had tried LSD/NSD diet, Perfect Health Diet, Paleo, NSAIDS, yoga, swimming, meditation, vitamins, supplements, apple diet, juice diet, etc and none of them seemed to do anything for me.

I am not guaranteeing it will work for you but I am so grateful that I started these exercises. Please try them - I hope they work for you!

If you can't do full pullups or pullups, there are lots of exercises that work the same muscles. Search Google or Youtube for examples!