Exercise Combats Ashburn and Herndon Chronic Pain and Related Distress
Do you have 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 a little optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more reasons, Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain patients’ Ashburn and Herndon 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, 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 didn’t, researchers found 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 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 associated with decreased disability whether they felt any reduction in pain intensity. They summarized that helping chronic pain patients tweak 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 help! Fear-avoidance is a not-too-unusual a problem for patients with pain. They don’t want to do anything to aggravate their condition and exacerbate pain which leads to less movement and less optimism for ever being without pain. Research indicated that patients with longer episodes of pain who stated greater self-efficacy and patients with higher pain disability and depression had lower self-efficacy. (4) Knowing this, we support our Ashburn and Herndon 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 bad for us. Researchers even write that they are associated with chronic musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What’s the solution? Physical exercise, of course. Researchers noted in a recent study that exercise programs that combine several types of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be better. Such arrangements are also more flexible to an individual 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 particularly for those with spine pain conditions like chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. (5) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn works with each Ashburn and Herndon chiropractic patient to design a plan just for him/her.
CONTACT Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she details the effective gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating chronic back pain.
Schedule your Ashburn and Herndon 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 Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn. We’ll work together to reduce pain and fear of pain and improve your sense of independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!
