Do you experience chronic pain? You’re not alone! Chronic pain can influence
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! Luckily,
so many studies show that a little
optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more
reasons, Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain
patients’ Tonawanda 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 who has
chronic low back pain. At the conclusion 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, lowered
pain scores connected to higher self-efficacy scores
(feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ increased
disability reflected a beneficial 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 found
that improved self-efficacy was linked to lowered
disability whether they felt any reduction
in pain intensity. They summarized that helping chronic
pain patients tweak 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 point of view toward
pain can be a plus! 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 denoted that patients with longer periods with pain who expressed greater self-efficacy and
patients with higher pain disability and depression had lower self-efficacy. (4)
Knowing this, we support our
Tonawanda pain patients to be physical and keep
living life! ’Better’ is coming!
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 aggravate it! What’s the answer? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers noted in a new 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 done two to three times a week for just 4
weeks 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) Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
formulates a plan expressly for
each Tonawanda chiropractic patient.
CONTACT Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she
shares the effective gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating
chronic back pain.
Schedule your Tonawanda chiropractic
appointment soon. Whether you’re a retired NFL
player or NFL fan or neither of these, bring your chronic pain and worried mind
to Chiropractic Spine Sports And Rehabilitation. We’ll work together to decrease
pain and fear of pain and improve your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!