Benefits of exercise for chronic pain management
Support for Chronic Pain Management
Sleep for Pain Management
Nutrition for Pain Management
Exercise for Pain Management
Guided Meditations for Chronic Pain
If you have chronic pain, I am sure you have heard that you should exercise for pain management. Exercise does help manage pain if you are mindful of your movement. Increased movement and exercise work to help calm down those overactive, or excited nerves that are causing the chronic pain. Exercise also has so many other benefits that the possibility of it adding some relief should be explored even if you are skeptical. Exercise can help control your weight, reduce risk of heart disease, reduce risk of Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, reduce risk of some cancers, strengthen your bones and muscles, improve your ability to do daily activities and help prevent falls AND improve your mood and mental health.
Research shows that exercise can lessen symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and panic disorder. Exercise also helps improve self- esteem and can help improve sleep.
How to exercise for pain management
So, how to do it without overdoing it.
When starting any exercise program, it’s a great idea to work with someone trained in movement with some knowledge in chronic pain. Consider enlisting the help of an exercise physiologist, physical therapist, yoga therapist, or fitness trainer that has training in working with chronic pain.
When moving for chronic pain management, start gently and go slow. The most important thing is for you and your body to feel safe! Remember you want to calm your nervous system, not send it into full hyper-alert mode.
When giving an exercise prescription, we often discuss FITT (frequency, intensity, time, and type). If you apply FITT to working with chronic pain, here are some things you may want to consider.
FITT for chronic pain management
Intensity
Push yourself just a bit outside of your comfort zone. Remember your body needs to feel safe but a bit challenged to make positive changes.
You may think of the colors of a stop light: when exercising you want to push out of the green zone a bit but stay out of the red zone.
Moving into the yellow zone occasionally will help, over time, expand the green (safe) zone. When doing aerobic exercise, you may consider the talk test to help you decide on intensity level. You should be able to talk but not sing.
Time
How long should you exercise to help decrease chronic pain? For aerobic benefits, the recommendation is to get a total of 2.5 hours /week of moderate intensity exercise.
That can look like 30 minutes five times a week or it can be broken up into shorter bouts throughout the day. Again, start low and go slow.
Be gentle with yourself and listen to what your body needs. If you haven’t slept well, your diet has been off, or your stress level is particularly high, take it easy.
Type
The best exercise is the exercise you enjoy! Do what feels good and feels safe. This may be something from your past that you enjoyed and now you can modify the activity to fit your needs today. Or try something new: Tai chi, water exercise, gentle yoga, pilates, cycling on the road or in a spin class, hiking, circus arts, gardening, recreational sports. Strength training also has huge benefits on maintaining quality of life.
If you have chronic pain and have not done much strength training in the past, it may be best to start with a physical therapist, exercise physiologist, or other movement professional that has knowledge in the area of chronic pain management to put together a program that is right for YOU.
Remember…You Can Feel a Bit Sore and Be Safe!
For quality information about exercise check out ACSM