I'm having physio for arthritis and at the mo we are focussing on improving core strength.
I know that kegel balls can tone pelvic floor muscles, but do they also help with core strength?
And would a love egg do the same as kegel balls or are they more for pleasure for its own sake?
Thanks.
Sorry to hear you have arthritis, MsR. I have a form of it (CPPD) and have also tested + for RA, but luckily have not developed it yet (doc is puzzled but I've always been odd).
No, it won't tone your core. It may help a tiny bit as they're all connected a bit but you'll need specific core exercises as they're for all your lower back and abdo area. I was given them to help with my back spasms and they seemed to be working great - a year with no spasm.
Then, I had a 3-week one in August and now I'm still having another (5 weeks tomorrow). I know mine are down to the nerves getting the wrong signals and locking the muscles rather than muscle strain but quite frankly, I don't care. I just want the bloody thing to go away!
A love egg will tone but only if you exercise around it - same as Kegel balls. Your body will automatically tighten a little to any stimulation, but to really tone you need to do the work.
The only way around this is to use items that stimulate your muscles by shocking them. The Impulse e-stim egg or the iTouch are good. They both have pros and cons - the Impulse has fewer programs (though it also vibrates) and the wireless remote can be temperamental (but having no leads is fab) and the iTouch needs replacement leads quite frequently. The Impulse is more for pleasure but the iTouch has different programs for different bladder conditions.
I find both of them pleasurable to use as I like e-stim but for REAL toning I'd go for the iTouch.
You can buy something similar for your abs, too, but I can't for the life of me remember the name. It gets a bad name from real gym-goers but if you struggle with mobility, anything is better than nothing.
Hope this helps a tiny bit and that you get some help for your arthritis.
Thanks, VR - I'll skip todays DOTD then and check out the items you suggest. I've had AS for 15 years - the inflammation is dormant at the moment but over the years it has caused damage to vertebrae and discs and hips, so they've added osteo arthrisitis to the list. Sexy, eh?
You've mentioned your condition before and I'm sorry to hear that it is flaring again. I hope you get some relief soon. Is it the sort of thing anti-TNF drugs could help with? They are becoming increasingly prescribed and varied - helped me for a while.
I'm liking my Liberator wedge! Thanks for the recommendation.
VR wrote:
The only way around this is to use items that stimulate your muscles by shocking them. The Impulse e-stim egg or the iTouch are good.
I've looked at both and read your review of the Impulse - and done my credit card some damage! Although with the Black Friday offer and one of my own discounts + points I got it for £46.49. I'll use it combined with my physio exercises so it should help the whole area. I did a similar thing a few days ago with the Liberator - bagged for £39. That's all quite a lot for me to put on a card but if they help with health as well as sex then I don't care!
Thanks again for your advice.
MsR wrote:
VR wrote:
The only way around this is to use items that stimulate your muscles by shocking them. The Impulse e-stim egg or the iTouch are good.
I've looked at both and read your review of the Impulse - and done my credit card some damage! Although with the Black Friday offer and one of my own discounts + points I got it for £46.49. I'll use it combined with my physio exercises so it should help the whole area. I did a similar thing a few days ago with the Liberator - bagged for £39. That's all quite a lot for me to put on a card but if they help with health as well as sex then I don't care!
Thanks again for your advice.
It'll take some getting used to with the e-stim if you haven't used that before - try to resist the urge going past the "I can just feel it tickling my muscles" too soon. The jump can be quite a jolt and may put you off. You will get used to it quick enough, I promise.
Oh, and whatever you do, don't pull it out while the e-stim is still on. That will definitely put you off!
The only other thing I'd feel really bad about is if you didn't like it as a love egg and have missed the Mantric one. I don't think the vibes are as strong as Mantric vibes but they still feel nice.
If you're wearing it as a vibe start clenching around it but you need to relax, too. I had lessons with my continence nurse (using her fingers as a gauge - more sexiness for us ladies! I wasn't relaxing enough which can be as damaging to the muscles as not exercising at all. If you feel you're getting a bit too tense just relax completely for a bit.
I really, REALLY hope you get on with it. I loved the iTouch but it annoyed the hell out of me as I kept getting the LEADS message on screen. I thought it was faulty so returned it but was told later that the LEADS message meant I needed new leads! They didn't mention that in the instructions and they can add up quite quickly. That's the big advantage the Impulse has over it, that and the fact that it can be used as a vibe, too.
Good luck.
Well, I bought it on offer and mainly for the exercises - the vibes are an added incentive! I can always use the Toy Happiness Promise if it doesn't suit, but I'm seeing it as a health investment along with the physio. I really didnt need another Mantric toy!
Sorry I didn't reply - OH told me to pack quick as he'd booked a surprise night away as an early Christmas present.
Obviously, I packed a few toys and some nice undies . We rarely go away so it really was a surprise.
Hope you get on with it - I'll be gutted if you don't.
I missed your drug question, too. I have been offered DMTs for my condition but I had surprise bad side effects with steroids that I was given for an attack I was having. I seem to react in a different way to the way most people do to a lot of drugs, which is something I'm told by my physio is happening more and more frequently (there's me thinking I was special!).
With that in mind and the fact that I don't have that many relapses (even though I am definitely deteriorating) I've refused the drugs as the side effects would probably be intolerable for me. Surprisingly, this puts me on the naughty list as although the drugs they're 'pushing' on me cost a touch under £5k a throw and are given 2-3 times per year, and I'm obviously saving the NHS this cost, my consultant has kind of distanced himself with me. Hard to explain, but bottom line is I'm having a problem getting ANY treatment off them as I refused the first offered.
I do get fantastic support from my physio team, though. The only difference is they can't prescribe but they will write to my GP suggesting new drugs and warning them that I get a reaction to several drugs each time as I never get to see the same GP twice. I wish all my NHS contacts were like that!
Anyway, fingers crossed that it should arrive by tomorrow (if it hasn't already) - the double charging wire is cool.
Ooh VR I hope you both had a super night away! Such initative in a partner is to be encouraged :-)
I think it is the over-stretched nature of our health service at the moment - they have first line 'packages' to offer and don't have the time or resources to individualise those. Side effects can be very personal. I've tried gabapentin and low dose amitriptiline for nerve pain and both zombiefied me for a day. OH works for NHS - even he said, don't go there again! I hope you find a combination which works for you.
As for the Impulse it arrived quickly and looks lovely but is dead as a stone despite two attempts to charge it using different sockets. I've followed the instructions, then progressed to random button-pressing for varing amounts of time. No sign of life in it. The lights all light up, but that's it. Is there a trick I am missing?
I've contacted Lovehoney through Live Chat and they just said to send it back for a refund or a replacement. They couldn't advise about how to kick-start it.
Some really mundane things that can help with core strength is just planking, flutter kicks, crunches, not really a high entry bar but your reps shoot up really quickly with practice.
Hello there, MK7 - I'm not a gym person but I clearly need to exercise certain muscles more to improve core stength so I will google those terms. The physio is helping my back and I've got a helpful NASS app. I just thought that a kegel 'toy' mght be something to add - with an incentive :-)
MsR wrote:
Ooh VR I hope you both had a super night away! Such initative in a partner is to be encouraged :-)
I think it is the over-stretched nature of our health service at the moment - they have first line 'packages' to offer and don't have the time or resources to individualise those. Side effects can be very personal. I've tried gabapentin and low dose amitriptiline for nerve pain and both zombiefied me for a day. OH works for NHS - even he said, don't go there again! I hope you find a combination which works for you.
As for the Impulse it arrived quickly and looks lovely but is dead as a stone despite two attempts to charge it using different sockets. I've followed the instructions, then progressed to random button-pressing for varing amounts of time. No sign of life in it. The lights all light up, but that's it. Is there a trick I am missing?
I've contacted Lovehoney through Live Chat and they just said to send it back for a refund or a replacement. They couldn't advise about how to kick-start it.
Have you got it vibrating yet? The instructions on the box are really lacking - try the Calexotics website and look at the video on there.
Is the light on the tail on? If that's not on it won't receive from the remote. It takes a few goes to connect and has to be held really close so when it's in and on I switch it off via the tail in case the remote hasn't signalled it to switch off properly and I get zapped!
Have you managed to get it vibrating? If it vibrates the e-stim will work. However, the e-stim feels like nothing is happening at all until you go up a few levels and then you get a flutter. You sit there thinking "this is okay, I'll go up more" and that's where you've been lulled into dangerous territory!
The mild flutter goes up into a bit of a stronger sensation, then BAM! the next one up is the one that catches you out.
Let me know if it vibrates and have a quick look at the video.
MK7 wrote:
Some really mundane things that can help with core strength is just planking, flutter kicks, crunches, not really a high entry bar but your reps shoot up really quickly with practice.
I'd kill to be able to exercise properly again - I haven't been able to for years.
My right side doesn't get the signals from my nerves so no matter how hard I try to make my leg do something it just won't. It took my physio to explain in detail and strap a really heavy weight to his leg before he understood what it feels like to try moving what is in effect a dead weight. The arguments we had where he was telling me to work harder and use my muscles before this was explained to him were soul-destroying.
I belong to a group with my condition that has all ages and mixed sex - it's amazing how denial makes the young men think that excessive work-outs in a gym mean they'll escape this disease. I can't blame them as when I was diagnosed there were no treatments so I was told to live life as full as possible before it took hold (which has taken a few decades - I'm one of the lucky ones). Us oldies still share "that" look whenever the "youngies" tell us we should have exercised, though.
With that said, fitness is key. I didn't attend a gym (no time, not an excuse), but I did 15 minutes of toning exercises a day, every day that my physio had given me. It's shocking what a difference 15 mins a day over six weeks can do!
MK7 - do you have ANY exercises you think I could manage to up my core strength? I think my back is in really bad shape. My osteopath says she can feel the muscles have tensed up with spasm so I'm assuming there's still enough of them to exercise! I can't use my leg much - I can't lift it from lying down at all - and i have a problem with my arm on the same side but not as bad.
Thanks.
VR wrote:
Have you got it vibrating yet? The instructions on the box are really lacking - try the Calexotics website...
Is the light on the tail on? If that's not on it won't receive from the remote. It takes a few goes to connect and has to be held really close so when it's in and on I switch it off via the tail in case the remote hasn't signalled it to switch off properly and I get zapped!
Hi again. I finally got it to vibrate but it took a few goes and lots of random button pressing because the sequence in the instructions didn't work.
Customer Care think I might have a faulty one, so I haven't dared to try in internally yet - just in my hand and it is still hit and miss. The remote seems to need to be right next to it for the signal to catch. They have given me a returns lable to swap it for another, just in case this one is glitchy. Can't get to the post office until Monday so I will have a think...
Thanks for your help and advice - invaluable, as always!
MK7 wrote:
Some really mundane things that can help with core strength is just planking, flutter kicks, crunches, not really a high entry bar but your reps shoot up really quickly with practice.
Hi, I'm doing some pretty basic pelvic tilts - have to go gently because of disc and vetebrae degeneration. My Liberator wedge helps to take thing up (literally!) a bit. I'm trying to combine kegel exercises with these.
I'm also doing exercises for flexibility in thoratic spine and cervical spine.
Not sure what to do for osteo in hip sockets - apart from taking codeine. I think we will look at that at my next apointment
I sound 90! I'm 49, with 3 kiddies to keep me busy. Still have a happy sex life and want to keep it that way!
VR wrote:
MK7 wrote:
Some really mundane things that can help with core strength is just planking, flutter kicks, crunches, not really a high entry bar but your reps shoot up really quickly with practice.
I'd kill to be able to exercise properly again - I haven't been able to for years.
My right side doesn't get the signals from my nerves so no matter how hard I try to make my leg do something it just won't. It took my physio to explain in detail and strap a really heavy weight to his leg before he understood what it feels like to try moving what is in effect a dead weight. The arguments we had where he was telling me to work harder and use my muscles before this was explained to him were soul-destroying.
I belong to a group with my condition that has all ages and mixed sex - it's amazing how denial makes the young men think that excessive work-outs in a gym mean they'll escape this disease. I can't blame them as when I was diagnosed there were no treatments so I was told to live life as full as possible before it took hold (which has taken a few decades - I'm one of the lucky ones). Us oldies still share "that" look whenever the "youngies" tell us we should have exercised, though.
With that said, fitness is key. I didn't attend a gym (no time, not an excuse), but I did 15 minutes of toning exercises a day, every day that my physio had given me. It's shocking what a difference 15 mins a day over six weeks can do!
MK7 - do you have ANY exercises you think I could manage to up my core strength? I think my back is in really bad shape. My osteopath says she can feel the muscles have tensed up with spasm so I'm assuming there's still enough of them to exercise! I can't use my leg much - I can't lift it from lying down at all - and i have a problem with my arm on the same side but not as bad.
Thanks.
I understand that. I eat well and exercise daily but I don't do things like weights and intense cardio because I see the long term degradation that overtraining and poor form has on friends of mine who are still in their 20s. I stick to a lot of more natural stuff for my body like just walking, yoga, calisthenics (with resistance bands sometimes for more intensity). I look for simple practical strength and cardio fitness and not heavy weights and long endurance etc.
Some of the really low intensity ones I can think of are:
Leg raise - Lie on your back and just raise your legs about 3 inches off the ground as long as you can (this one strengthens your back but too much of it when not used to it can hurt your back, so do it in gradual increases you're comfortable with)
Hip raise - Do the same, but knees bent, and try and raise your hips a few times
Yoga - Tons of core strengthening positions that just require you to stay in one spot and breathe for 5 to 10 breaths, bridge, chair, wall dragon, embryo and wall squat are really good low intensity core strenghtening yoga poses
Static pushup - Just get into a pushup position and hold it, don't actually do a pushup if you can't.
Thanks, MK7. Sounds a lot like my physio's suggestions but a bit further on.
The main thing for me is having the discipline to keep up with the exercises when the results are not instant. I don't think there is any other way to go, though, so thanks for your advice.
Thanks, MK7.
I can do my bridge and chair but have to have somone support/hold in place my right leg. I do squats but only over a stool or with someone behind me as my balance is very poor. I can do the clam but only if someone holds my right foot.
My biggest problem is probably getting on/off the floor so I don't bother (unless I fall there! Then I have to wait for help). Getting off the floor with only one working leg is a royal pain.
Believe it or not a leg raise is one of the hardest things for me to do - my left is fine, right impossible - trying both causes problems with my back. Can't remember how the physio described it but something to do with the weight of the one leg putting too much pressure on the left side pulls everything out of whack.
Most of my exercise is done on my bed (which is soft and I'm pretty sure is throwing me out of whack to start with). Doing them on the physio's bench is so much easier.
Treadmill is out as I don't have a stable gait and a cross-trainer, although brilliant as it supports so makes me feel like I can walk properly lasts about a minute before I start to claw with my foot (the nerve problem causes it and there's nothing that can be done about it).
I'm going to Google the other stuff you mentioned now - thanks.
MsR - did you check out the video? Was it any help?
The remote on mine does the same - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Re-setting with the tail helps but can be a bit frustrating.
Hi VR, yes - video ws helpful. But I tried mine again over the weekend, making sure I did it right, and it was still glitchy. It wouldn't puck up the signal at all through uderwear and I wanted to be ableto use it around the house while doing other things. So it's gone back, on the advice of Customer Services - maybe they will test it and see.
Thanks for all your help though!
Sorry you've had a problem with it. Are you trying something else or just swapping? Mine is a bit glitchy but I just use it in bed. Maybe they're all like that?
I had my cousin send mine over from the US when they first came out as I was fed up with wires and error messages when the leads weren't connecting but this is apparently quite common anyway.
My continence nurse is allowed to give devices out on prescription to certain sufferers and says that a lot of people using them vaginally or anally give up due to problems like this but it can be avoided by using electrodes on certain areas on the back or leg. They come with their own problems like skin irritation and incorrect placement, though.
It seems very much a rock/hard place thing for those methods but the Impulse, if it worked a little bit better, woud have been perfect for you and lots of others. I'll put up with mine for the time being as I can usually get it going.
It's very annoying if Calexotics are putting out such poor quality toys,though, and they can't even blame a faulty batch as ours were bought continents apart!