vertigo ruining my exercise plans

bragan

Hey everyone.

I need some idea's. I have vertigo (inner ear imbalance which causes dizziness and nausea, usually set off by motion). It has gotten worse over the last year.
I find that I can't go to the gym anymore, as the motion makes me sick. So basically I can't run, jog, skip etc. Anything that involves a lot of bounciness.

At the moment I am going walking, swimming and going to a pilates class, but I miss the more energetic exercise. I could take tablets all the time to stop this happening, but I don't want to have to be on medication all the time for it. Id rather find a way around it.

SO, anyone got an ideas for exercise that would give me a good workout, without too much motion sickness. (a contradiction in itself, I'm aware!!)
I suppose something that is aerobic without necessarily jumping up and down.

And before I get given out to, I'm not trying to find an easy way out of exercise. I'm trying to find a way to exercise

quozl

I've been doing some water-running while injured recently, and it can be as tough a workout as you want. I wouldn't think there's much up/down motion at all. Best I can think of off the top of my head.

If you want to give it a try I can loan you a buoyancy belt if you can call by Ringsend some evening. People do it without them but it looks like you'd be doing well to breath while not drowning to me

JayRoc

You could try one of those non-impact crosstrainers, the ones that your feet slide into. The workout wouldn't be as intense as a treadmill but it'd be better than nothing. It might still be too much shaking going on for you though.

How about a rowing machine?

Fair play to you for trying to work around the problem anyway.

bragan

quozl wrote:

I've been doing some water-running while injured recently, and it can be as tough a workout as you want. I wouldn't think there's much up/down motion at all. Best I can think of off the top of my head.

If you want to give it a try I can loan you a buoyancy belt if you can call by Ringsend some evening. People do it without them but it looks like you'd be doing well to breath while not drowning to me

That's not a bad idea actually. Where do you do the water running? In a pool? I think I might be able to manage that.

Unfortunately rowing machines and cross trainers are out. cross trainers are actually worse than the treadmill, because you feet isn't touching the floor, the motion is even move confusing, so when I step of it, I get very disorientated.:(

Thanks though!

hunnymonster

I have vertigo too but luckily it only flares up every so often. When it does I take a single 5mg stemetil and it seems to settle it for a couple of weeks. I know you said you can swim, but I actually find swimming the most disoirentating activity but I guess everyone is different. When running it helps me to focus 50 m in front of myself. This gives a continuity that keeps the nausea at bay. I've never had a problem with cycling.

bragan

hunnymonster wrote:

I have vertigo too but luckily it only flares up every so often. When it does I take a single 5mg stemetil and it seems to settle it for a couple of weeks. I know you said you can swim, but I actually find swimming the most disoirentating activity but I guess everyone is different. When running it helps me to focus 50 m in front of myself. This gives a continuity that keeps the nausea at bay. I've never had a problem with cycling.

Wow, your lucky. one tablet and its gone. I would be on them 3 times a day for nearly a week before it begins to clear up. Funny, its not during the exercise that it effects me, its more afterwards. Like after skipping for about 10 -15 mins I would begin to feel sick, or after going for a jog. It's when I stop that and rest that I feel sick. Guess everyone is different!
Good to hear from someone in a similar position though;)

davyjose

There's always weightlifting dude. You'd be surprised how much a moderately high rep work-out, with short intervals, can cause a sweat. I would imagine Dragan's recently posted sticky would be quite a rigorous little routine.

quozl

bragan wrote:

That's not a bad idea actually. Where do you do the water running? In a pool? I think I might be able to manage that.

In the Markewicz corpo swimming pool between pearse street and tara st station. It's fine during any of the 'open' swimming hours - when only half the pool is lane swimming. I do feel a bit of a knob tbh, but that's just me

It's a great work-out, and there's noway i could risk doing the same sort of intensity on the roads at the moment.

Here's a guide
http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports/water.shtml
if you're interested yourself.

leftism

Man, vertigo is the most horrible affliction to have! I wouldn't wish it on my enemies! I got it for the first time in 2002 and i was in bed for 3 weeks with it. Couldn't sit up in the bed, couldn't walk around, was able to do nothing...

I cant really recommend any exercises that would not be affected by it, since it totally depends on what part of the vestibular apparatus in your inner ear is affected. In my past experience, even though weights does not involve too much whole body movement, doing medium to heavy weights actually flared up my vertigo because of the massive increased blood pressure and strain you generate while lifting...

Spin cycling indoors might be a good exercise if you can manage it since your upper body remain fairly motionless during the activity. That is of course if the cycling position does not trigger a dizzy spell....

Hope you get through it man! Coz its a terrible thing to get unless you're a total couch potato....