Exercise Combats Fernandina Beach Chronic Pain and Related Distress
Do you experience chronic pain? You aren’t alone! Chronic pain can work on the mind and the body. Over 80% of retired NFL football players reported having pain daily. A recent questionnaire study of them revealed that the greater the pain acceptance, the lower the pain intensity they had. (1) Accepting pain is a challenge though! Fortunately, so many studies show that a little 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 extend beyond the physical body improvements. Exercise also enhances the mind and outlook of a person in pain, particularly one dealing with chronic low back pain. At the conclusion of a 3-month study of chronic low back pain patients who either exercised or did not, researchers found that pain disability scores in the exercisers decreased significantly more. In both groups, reduced pain scores connected to higher self-efficacy scores (feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ improved disability reflected a beneficial impact 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 regardless of any reduction in pain intensity. They summarized that helping chronic pain patients improve their sense of self-efficacy could be an effective addition to the treatment of chronic pain patients beyond just pain relief. (3)
OPTIMISM FOR A BETTER, LESS PAINFUL DAY
And an optimistic point of view toward pain can be a positive! Fear-avoidance is a common problem for patients with pain. They don’t want to do anything to provoke their condition and exacerbate pain which leads them to move less and have less optimism for ever being without pain. Research indicated 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) Understanding this, we encourage our Fernandina Beach pain patients to be active and not avoid living life! Improvement is just around the corner!
EXERCISE: Time to Move!
And we all know it: physical inactivity and sedentary lifestyle are not beneficial for us. Researchers go so far as to write that they are associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What is the answer? Physical exercise, of course. Researchers noted in a new study that exercise programs that combine a variety of types of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be better. Such combinations are also more adaptable to a particular patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate intensity exercise done two to three times a week for just 4 weeks were shown to be of greatest benefit for chronic pain patients particularly for those with spine pain conditions like chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. (5) Amelia Chiropractic Clinic formulates a plan expressly for each Fernandina Beach chiropractic patient.
CONTACT Amelia Chiropractic Clinic
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating chronic back pain.
Make your Fernandina Beach chiropractic appointment now. Whether you’re 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!
