My morning routine to help with Ankylosing Spondylitis

How the day begins

For most people with AS the mornings tend to be the worst! We wake up in pain (generally) and have to do a lot of stretching even before we get out of bed. This is how it is for me anyway. I wake up and I am in pain mostly in my lower back now as a lot of the other areas have pain have thankfully resolved. I am looking forward to the day when the lower back pain resolves too. I am hopeful and determined that this will eventually happen!

First things first

As soon as I get up, I have to walk around the house in order to loosen up, this takes about 5 minutes, at this stage, I go take some homeopathic remedies. These days this includes Rhus Tox, Bamboo, sometimes Arnica and Causticum. I will write a blog post about how I use homeopathy another time) I then wander around the house a bit more and eventually get downstairs. Now its time for all my super remedies! These include water with borax solution, minerals, magnesium, DMSO, and MSM. With this I wash down my supplements including: Vitamin C, B Vitamin complex, Quercetin, Adrenal complex and take my liquid remedies; Vitamin A, E and D3 and K2. (I will also write a separate blog post about the remedies and supplements I take) By this point, I am generally feeling much looser and my body feels fluid and has much less pain, although this can and does vary day to day.

Preparing brunch

After I have taken all my supplements, I prepare my brunch to have a bit later. Brunch for me always includes my Super Green Smoothie (this can be found in the recipe section). I also include either a couple of slices of my nut bread (recipe also in the recipe section) topped with berries, nut butter, and olive oil. Or my nutty granola with hemp milk. Once I’ve prepared brunch I leave it for later and go back upstairs to my treatment room to do my exercises.

Exercises

Every day I go through a set of stretching and strengthening exercises, I sometimes do these twice a day depending on my schedule. I stretch throughout the day also. My aim is to put my spine through its full range of motion at least once per day. The strength work aims to build strength in core muscles that support my structure.

My physiotherapist gave me a fantastic set of exercises called Foundation Training. These were developed by an American Chiropractor to help his clients stay well. The set I use is focused on the lower body, pelvis, and the posterior chain of muscles. The exercises were a godsend to me several months ago when I couldn’t walk and I am certain these got me mobile again. I will write about these exercises in another post but for now, if you are interested search for Foundation Training.

Shower

After the exercises and stretching I shower, I usually switch my shower to full heat and that helps enormously with any residual pain or stiffness.

I sometimes turn the shower to cool for the last few minutes, this can be helpful to alleviate inflammation. I would like to explore this more and have looked into the Wim Hoff method which I would like to get into the habit of using every day but have not been brave enough to as yet!

Now I dress, dry my hair, put on some light make-up (I can't go without my mascara!) and I'm ready for the day!