Do you have chronic pain? You’re not alone! Chronic pain can impact
the mind and the body. Over 80% of retired NFL football players reported having
pain daily. A recent questionnaire study of them noted that
the greater the pain acceptance, the lower the pain intensity they had.
(1) Accepting pain is hard though! Fortunately,
so many studies show that a tad bit of
optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more
reasons, Amelia Chiropractic Clinic incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain
patients’ Fernandina Beach chiropractic treatment plans!
EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY AND MIND
Exercise benefits go beyond the physical body
improvements. Exercise also improves the mind and outlook of a
person in pain, particularly one dealing with
chronic low back pain. At the end of a 3-month study of
chronic low back pain patients who either exercised or did not,
researchers documented that pain disability scores in the exercisers
dropped significantly more. In both groups, reduced
pain scores correlated with higher self-efficacy scores
(feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ improved
disability showed a positive effect
on increased self-efficacy and pain relief. (2) Another study of 72 patients
before treatment for their chronic pain and after 3 months of treatment documented
that improved self-efficacy was linked to decreased
disability whether they felt any decrease
in pain intensity. They concluded that helping chronic
pain patients improve their sense of self-efficacy could be a
good way to help chronic pain patients cope with pain in addition to just
relieving their pain. (3)
OPTIMISM FOR A BETTER, LESS PAINFUL DAY
And an optimistic outlook toward
pain can help! Fear-avoidance is a
not-too-unusual a problem for patients with pain. They don’t
want to do anything to provoke their pain
and cause pain which leads to
less movement and less optimism for a life without
pain. Research showed that patients with longer episodes
of pain who expressed greater self-efficacy and
patients with higher pain disability and depression had lower self-efficacy. (4)
Knowing this, we encourage our
Fernandina Beach pain patients to be active and keep
living life! ’Better’ is coming!
EXERCISE: Time to Move!
And we all know it: physical inactivity and sedentary
lifestyle are not good for us. Researchers go so
far as to write that they are associated with chronic
musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What’s the solution? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers explained in a new study that exercise
programs that combine several types
of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more
effective. Such arrangements are also more adaptable
to a particular patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate
intensity exercise done two to three times a week for a month were shown to be of greatest benefit
for chronic pain patients especially for those with spine pain conditions like chronic
low back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. (5) Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
works with each Fernandina Beach
chiropractic patient to formulate a plan just
for him/her.
CONTACT Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she
shares the effectiveness of the gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating
chronic back pain.
Schedule your Fernandina Beach chiropractic
appointment soon. Whether you are a retired NFL
player or NFL fan or neither of these, bring your chronic pain and worried mind
to Amelia Chiropractic Clinic. Let’s work together to reduce
pain and fear of pain and improve your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!