{"id":31549,"date":"2022-02-09T09:43:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T17:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/?p=31549"},"modified":"2022-02-09T11:26:01","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T19:26:01","slug":"7-reasons-why-exercise-is-important-for-chronic-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/7-reasons-why-exercise-is-important-for-chronic-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Reasons Why Exercise is Important for Chronic Pain"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When it comes to managing chronic pain due to past injuries, most of us are familiar with common modalities like oral medication, topical analgesic gels, acupuncture, massage, pain therapy machines, meditation\/mindfulness, or even surgery. However, did you know that exercising regularly is also an effective tool to manage chronic pain?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Treating pain mainly falls into 2 categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Passive Treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Designed to address the pain (symptoms)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Active Treatment: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Designed to address the cause\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Passive treatment <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">includes treatments that are performed on you such as ultrasound, infrared rays, needling, and manual therapy such as massage or chiropractic manipulation. The therapist is in control during this type of treatment and it mainly focuses on acute pain relief. It does not address or correct the cause of the pain. Brief pain-free periods may ensue, but passive treatment rarely increases the likelihood of complete recovery. For most, one of the main reasons is because people rely too much on passive treatment alone. Passive treatment is usually recommended during the early stage of rehab or for acute pain to help regain minimal functionality, to promote early stages of healing, and to break the vicious pain-cycle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-29654\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy.png 1200w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy-768x511.png 768w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy-600x400.png 600w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/percussion-therapy-400x266.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Active treatment <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">requires you to be physically involved in the process while working towards a cure to pain. Some active treatments include stretching, a corrective exercise program, and resistance training. However, it is extremely important that you are given the correct active treatment program that is relevant to your injury or condition as well as your goals. Correct exercises are able to address the root of the problem and may even prevent injuries. Active treatment is salient in the mid to late stages of rehab when one is nearly back to full functional capacity. The key is to strike a balance between passive and active therapies to best suit the type of chronic pain.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In order to treat <a href=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/chronic-pain-healing-release\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chronic pain<\/a>, it is important to understand that pain is a complex and individualized experience. Moreover, physical exercise may seem counterintuitive when you\u2019re already suffering from pain, but whether your pain is intermittent or constant, adopting exercise as part of your active treatment can play an important role in managing pain for the long run.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here are the 7 reasons why exercise is essential to manage chronic pain:<\/p>\n<h4><b>1. Exercise alters pain tolerance<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Athletes tend to report higher resilience towards pain compared to people who are sedentary. Studies have shown that active individuals are also likely to perceive pain differently. People who perform aerobic exercise or resistance training regularly, may develop the ability to adapt and desensitize the sensation of pain, thereby altering their pain tolerance in the process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>2. Exercise increases the tissue\u2019s tolerance threshold<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recurring injuries can happen when an excessive load surpasses the tissue tolerance level. Excessive load can come in many forms such as lifting up a pail of water, gardening, or from over-training. Gradually performing optimal exercises coupled with rest can stimulate and improve tissue tolerance margin. An increased threshold can help prevent an injury from reoccurring.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_31550\" style=\"width: 336px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-31550\" class=\"wp-image-31550 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pain-kewynnless.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"326\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pain-kewynnless.png 326w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/pain-kewynnless-300x207.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 326px) 100vw, 326px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-31550\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: McGill, Stuart; (2017). Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance. Backfit Pro Inc.<\/p><\/div>\n<h4><strong>3. Exercise improves blood circulation<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frequent exercise is associated with enhancement of the cardiovascular system. Aside from reducing risk of heart disease, increased blood flow raises the oxygen levels and helps deliver key nutrients within the body that are essential for cellular healing and reparation of injured tissues.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>4. Exercise releases feel-good hormones<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People living with chronic pain may experience severe disturbances in their psychological state. One can become <a href=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/all-mfn\/mental-habits-and-chronic-pain\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">anxious, depressed or stressed<\/a> due to physical limitations. Therapeutic exercise can help elevate mood by releasing feel-good hormones such as endorphins and dopamine while at the same time reducing stress due to the release of hormones such as cortisol.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>5. Exercise may help address the root cause of the pain<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Common injuries such as chronic lower back pain can be caused by many factors like continuous poor movement, muscle imbalances or past traumatic injuries. Exercise can help tackle the root of the problem by identifying compensating movements or muscle weakness through a series of assessments and resolve them with an exercise program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-25492\" src=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client.jpg 1219w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/physical-therapist-and-client-400x266.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/p>\n<h4><b>6. Exercise strengthens the body\u2019s structure<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use it or lose it<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d is a popular phrase used by physical therapists and exercise professionals when it comes to exercise. The connective tissues that move our body and support the joints are muscles. When the muscle stop being challenged, they lose function and strength. Over time, this weakens muscles and exposes the musculoskeletal structure to potential harm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h4><b>7. Exercise improves confidence<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to strengthening muscles and improving overall health, exercise can also enhance motor skills by stimulating the connection between the central nervous system and the muscles. Neuromuscular training helps improve balance, stability, proprioception and joint control. This can translate to pain-free movement and a decreased risk for falls. Practicing quality movements via routined exercise can boost functional capacity to perform various activities of daily living without fear of injuries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regular exercise that encompasses both aerobics and strength training is strongly recommended because it is both healthy and effective to decrease chronic pain. However, be sure to seek the advice of a <a href=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/search\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">certified medical fitness professional<\/a> to help you design an appropriate pain management strategy that is appropriate for your condition.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/members\/ke-wynn-lee\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ke Wynn Lee<\/a>\u00a0is an author and an international award-winning corrective exercise specialist who currently owns and operates a private Medical Fitness Center in Penang. Apart from coaching, he also conducts workshops and actively contributes articles related to corrective exercise, fitness &amp; health to online media and local magazines.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ageberg, Eva1; Roos, Ewa M.2 Neuromuscular Exercise as Treatment of Degenerative Knee<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Disease, Exercise and Sport Sciences Reviews: January 2015 &#8211; Volume 43 &#8211; Issue 1 &#8211; p<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">14-22 doi: 10.1249\/JES.0000000000000030<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">J\u00e4rvinen TA, J\u00e4rvinen TL, K\u00e4\u00e4ri\u00e4inen M, A\u00e4rimaa V, Vaittinen S, Kalimo H, J\u00e4rvinen M. Muscle<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">injuries: optimising recovery. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Apr;21(2):317-31.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">doi: 10.1016\/j.berh.2006.12.004. PMID: 17512485.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jones MD, Booth J, Taylor JL, Barry BK. Aerobic training increases pain tolerance in healthy<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">individuals. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2014 Aug;46(8):1640-7. Doi:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10.1249\/MSS.0000000000000273. PMID: 24504426.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> F. Koltyn, R W Arbogast. Perception of pain after resistance exercise. (Br J Sports Med<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1998;32:20\u201324)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McGill, Stuart; (2017). Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance. Backfit Pro Inc.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Staying Healthy: Exercise to Relax. Harvard. December 2021.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.health.harvard.edu\/staying-healthy\/exercising-to-relax<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to managing chronic pain due to past injuries, most of us are familiar with common modalities like oral medication, topical analgesic gels, acupuncture, massage, pain therapy machines, meditation\/mindfulness, or even surgery. However, did you know that exercising regularly is also an effective tool to manage chronic pain?\u00a0 Treating pain mainly falls into 2 categories: Passive Treatment: Designed to address the pain (symptoms)\u00a0 Active Treatment: Designed to address the cause\u00a0 Passive treatment includes treatments that are performed on you such as ultrasound, infrared rays, needling, and manual therapy such as massage or chiropractic manipulation. The therapist is in control during this type of treatment and it mainly focuses on acute pain relief. It does not address or correct the cause of the pain. Brief pain-free periods may ensue, but passive treatment rarely increases the likelihood of complete recovery. For most, one of the main reasons is because people rely too much on passive treatment alone. Passive treatment is usually recommended during the early stage of rehab or for acute pain to help regain minimal functionality, to promote early stages of healing, and to break the vicious pain-cycle.\u00a0 Active treatment requires you to be physically involved in the process [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":343,"featured_media":25492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[172,54,198],"class_list":["post-31549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-mfn","tag-chronic-pain","tag-exercise","tag-fitness-professionals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/343"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31549"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31586,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31549\/revisions\/31586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medfitnetwork.org\/public\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}