I have been diagnosed with shingles. I am off work for a couple of weeks but feel generally ok. Can I carry on light jogging to maintain fitness?

shingles is a VIRAL infection - stressing your body can lead to a weakening of the immune system so be careful, it might make matters a lot worse.
Light jogging is a relative thing, but as long as you kept it to light by your standards, slow and don't go out if you start to feel really tired, then no harm done.
Any doubts, consult your Doc is always the best course.

You have my symapthy, shingles is the very bugger to shake off. My grandma got shingles and she was never well again, it finished her off.

Thanks, you are echoing the warnings of my wife. Iam desperate to get back to some form of fitness but shingles has followed 6 months of sinusits so physically I'm at rock bottom.Every one in my running club thinks I've left!!!

I've had shingles: it tends to come on when you are stressed or run down. Have you had acyclovir? I think it only works if you have it in the first 48 hours, but I had it and only had a small patch of the rash that cleared quite quickly. I agree you need to rest though: even if you get over the shingles quickly, getting it is a warning sign. You say yourself that you are at a physical low.

Thanks Rowan. I am on acyclovir, I don't feel too bad but I have been stressed and sinusitis has left me run down. I will probably rest and start light jogging in a couple of weeks time.

Hoping you are over the worst now! I spent one whole night trying to sleep in a cold bath as it was the only thing that stopped the itch! But it didn't last too long...

I worked for someone who ran FLM two days after the onset of a dose of shingles and was fine, but I wouldn't recommend it :oS

Being an older person and having suffered from arthritis in the hips for some years,I recently had a total hip replacement.A few days after the operation I had Shingles.I have now had it for 10 weeks and it is still pretty painful.At least it took my mind off the hip.Now,I am trying to get walking fit,before giving running another go.From the way things are going this could take a while.

I got this a number of years ago now. I had been run down after a series of bad colds. I did not know what it was for a week or so, and by the time I got to the doc he said it was too late to treat it. It was a bit sore, but cleared up a few weeks later and has never come back. I am now running 60mpw with no ill effects. I think the key thing is to be patient. Wait till it has cleared up. You have many more years of running left, you do not want to spoil it by rushing back a week or two too soon.

Thanks DundeeRunner, it is frustrating. I feel drastically unfit and I am running the New Forest Half Marathon in September. This seems like a while away but I will be starting my training from scratch.

Does anyone experience lower back tightness, stiffness or inflexibility when they have had Shingles or the time leading up to having Shingles???