[Mobley119]

I was wondering if anyone knew any exercises that were especially good at reducing extra skin? I recently had a baby in June of last year, and I still have a significant amount of extra skin around my midsection. I've been doing sit ups and power walking up until recently because of the extreme heat and the back spasms I started having. Though it didn't particularly help at all.

Also I have fibromyalgia so I can't do any extreme workouts. I particularly enjoy dancing aerobics, would something like Zumba be effective at decreasing the extra skin? Is there any specific abdominal work outs that don't put strain on your back? Any responses would be appreciated.

[JudyKayTee]

Are you asking about body fat or extra skin? Nothing shrinks skin, of course, short of plastic surgery.

I have a bad back, have been avoiding surgery for years, have been advised to avoid any/all exercise that puts any strain on my back. What is your specific back problem - lower, middle, upper - ?

[Mobley119]

I was asking about skin, I have very little fat. That's what I figured but everyone I know tells me to work out my stomach and it will tighten it up and make it go away. However all these people are either men or women who've never experienced this even remotely this bad -.-

I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with my back at this point. I have scoliosis and at a young age I popped my upper back/neck out of place (chiropractor was too scared to do certain adjustments) so I kind of have a weird hump. Lately my mid back has been hurting so bad it will make me puke so I my PM doc had me get an MRI for it. The radiology tech said my back was spasming basically the entire time so they were having a hard time getting clear shots. I haven't been back to the doctor since the MRI yet, so I'm not sure if the spasms are what's wrong or if something is causing them.

[JudyKayTee]

I was asking about skin, I have very little fat. That's what I figured but everyone I know tells me to work out my stomach and it will tighten it up and make it go away. However all these people are either men or women who've never experienced this even remotely this bad -.-

I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with my back at this point. I have scoliosis and at a young age I popped my upper back/neck out of place (chiropractor was too scared to do certain adjustments) so I kind of have a weird hump. Lately my mid back has been hurting so bad it will make me puke so I my PM doc had me get an MRI for it. The radiology tech said my back was spasming basically the entire time so they were having a hard time getting clear shots. I haven't been back to the doctor since the MRI yet, so I'm not sure if the spasms are what's wrong or if something is causing them.

I sympathize - mine is two discs but they cause my back to spasm and I never see it coming. One minute I'm fine and the next minute I'm clutching something to keep from falling over, with a grimace on my face.

I keep seeing (and reading) about laser treatments to tighten skin - I know it's expensive but I don't know if it works.

[Mobley119]

Ugh that's awful I'm so sorry. I have a girlfriend who has that from a car accident and it's like one minute she's totally fine and the next she just stops whatever she's doing and clenches up. Back pain is so hard to keep under control since your spine is always moving, so it's always getting aggravated.

Yeah it seems like everything is laser nowadays. I've been reading about these green tea wraps but stuff like that I just assume if it does work it won't for someone who has it as bad as I do. Because I was bedridden for years from my FMS and CFS my abdominal muscles got weak so when I became pregnant I got really big really fast. That and my daughter stretched out my uterus + 3-4 weeks from being so active. The only way I could get her to stop moving was to get those fetalphone things and blast Kings of Leon for her (tried Beethoven, Raffi, and other kid stuff but all she wanted was Kings of Leon).