While inspecting the queen-size quilt I recently made I began to feel muscle fatigued in my arms from holding it up for a minute. I simply could not maintain my grip long enough to inspect more than two sides. When muscles fail quickly during repetition of tasks it is known as muscle fatigue. I experience this in many aspects of my life including but not limited to: holding my arm up to brush my teeth or putting the phone to my ear, stirring a pot at the stove, standing in one place for more than a few minutes, carrying in groceries – I can’t lift them to the counter, typing, writing with a pencil, carrying an item in my arms, and the list goes on. I blame muscle fatigue on what I call the MS Drop or my inability to hang on to items with confidence because they slip through my fingers without notice.

The Cleveland Clinic states that 75-95% of multiple sclerosis patients deal with fatigue. Fatigue can be feeling tired but it also means to have weakness in the muscles. The MultipleSclerosisJournal.com published findings in 2004 on the decreased levels of fatigue in patients following an eight week training program. It is time for me to put some serious thought into a fitness program to regain strength and prevent further decline in my ability to complete simple tasks in my life.

Image from: trialx.com.