Exercise Combats New York City 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 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 some optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more reasons, Rosenberg Wellness Center incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain patients’ New York City chiropractic treatment plans!
EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY AND MIND
Exercise benefits extend beyond the physical body improvements. Exercise also improves the mind and outlook of a person in pain, especially 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 decreased significantly more. In both groups, reduced pain scores correlated with higher self-efficacy scores (feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ improved disability reflected a positive influence 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 reported that improved self-efficacy was associated with lowered disability whether they felt any decrease of pain intensity. They concluded 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 attitude toward pain can be a plus! Fear-avoidance is a not-too-unusual a problem for patients with pain. They do not want to do anything to aggravate their condition and cause 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 New York City pain patients to be active and not avoid living life! Improvement is coming!
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 linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What is the solution? Physical exercise, of course. Researchers pointed out in a recent study that exercise programs combining several forms of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more effective. Such combinations are also more flexible to a particular patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate intensity exercise performed two to three times a week for a month 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) Rosenberg Wellness Center works with each New York City chiropractic patient to design a plan just for him/her.
CONTACT Rosenberg Wellness Center
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she details the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating chronic back pain.
Schedule your New York City chiropractic appointment now. Whether you are a retired NFL player or NFL fan or neither of these, bring your chronic pain and worried mind to Rosenberg Wellness Center. We’ll work together to decrease pain and fear of pain and increase your sense of independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!
