Chronic Pain and Exercise

 Exercise is crucial if you suffer from chronic pain, but knowing just how much activity you can do when you are hurting is the tricky part. Chronic pain is a double edged sword. It is human nature to withdraw a bit and nurse your pain with rest, but not exercising brings on a host of problems (decreased vigor, muscle weakness, worsening obesity, and low mood) and that is just the tip of the ice berg. What are you suppose to do? Believe it or not, exercise is part of a long-term pain management program. Success, according to Tracy Gaudet, M.D. writing for the U.S. News & World Report Online (May 5, 2009), is finding combinations of activity that are safe, beneficial, fun, sustainable and elastic. Being elastic refers to the concept that you can scale the intensity and duration up and down easily. If this is too much of a struggle for you, you may have to seek professional help. Dr. Gaudets advice is echoed in an article by Camille Noe Pagan (Arthritis Today, March/Spril 2008) about how to work through pain. Tips to consider include: • Be practical and careful. • Don’t fall and break bones. • Have your balance assessed, and get instruction re: how to improve it. Consider practices that focus on balance, such as tai chi or qigong. Ask your health care team for boundaries so that you can avoid doing damage to yourself. There may be a fine line between causing physical harm over just experiencing temporary soreness. It is recommended that you start by using all of your pain-free parts, then move very slowly into touchy areas. Start conservatively, be steady and be content with tiny increases. One highly recommended option is water exercises. It is still possible to injure yourself but it is a lot harder than on the dry land counterpart. Always warm up initially and thoroughly (longer than you might think, which isn’t easy because warming up is so boring), and really do those gentle stretching exercises after your workout. Dress comfortably to keep your body parts warm and comfortable (layers of wicking clothing). Don’t give up and don’t be discouraged. Learn to mix relaxation skills and accept that your limitations are going to dictate how much and how strenuous your workout can be and be persistent.

Comments

[pain management emr]

The ideas and insights are very worth reading. Thanks for the good info! I'm looking forward to read more, so keep on posting!:)