Chronic pain is currently incurable, but that doesn't mean that the experience of pain can't be reduced without drugs or surgery, such as through exercise. A study presented at the American Academy of Pain Medicine 24th Annual Meeting affirmed that physical conditioning can have immediate and lasting benefits for chronic pain patients. A 2007 review of studies published in "Best Practices in Residential Clinical Rheumatology" validated these findings, suggesting that both low to moderate and moderate to intense aerobic exercise can improve chronic widespread pain symptoms and patient distress.
Goals
The goal of exercise for chronic pain is to widen what's known as the therapeutic window between too much exercise, which can increase pain, and too little exercise, which can leave pain to worsen via a number of factors like muscle deconditioning or the microtrauma of overworked stronger muscles. Opening this therapeutic window will allow you to improve functioning and fitness in daily life without exacerbating pain levels.
Benefits
Exercise offers several possible benefits to people with chronic pain. It may help you reduce usage of pain medication to achieve the same degree of relief. It can strengthen the muscles that support painful joints, like a brace, easing the weight that bone and cartilage bear, and it can help you lose weight, further relieving stress on joints. By increasing flexibility, it can ward off stiffness and increase range of motion and ability to perform daily activities. It can also improve sleep and reduce chances of stronger muscles experiencing daily microtrauma.
Considerations
Speak with your doctor to determine your personal readiness for exercise before beginning any exercise program. Begin an exercise program after pain levels are stable. If you perform any exercises that increase fatigue or pain levels, stop immediately. Low-impact exercises like swimming, stationary bike riding, yoga and stretching, walking and breathing exercises are all gentle ways to increase the supply of blood and nutrients to the joints, reduce muscle stress and improve coordination and balance with little risk of injury.
Progression
The OHSU Fibromyalgia Treatment Team developed a specific progression of exercise tailored for people with chronic pain. It's a four-step progression in which you start out doing only the first step until you feel capable of adding the next, progressing from there in the same gradual manner. Step 1 involves alignment and relaxation techniques, step 2 involves flexibility training, step 3 involves resistance training and step 4 involves cardiovascular endurance training.
References
- American Academy of Pain Medicine; The Immediate and Long-Term Benefits of Physical Conditioning in Chronic Pain Patients; Amy M. Burleson, et al.; February 2008
- "Best Practices in Residential Clinical Rheumatology"; Non-Pharmacological Treatment of Chronic Widespread Musculoskeletal Pain; K. Mannerkorpi; June 2007
- Functional; "Exercise and Chronic Pain: Opening The Therapeutic Window"; Kim Dupree Jones, PhD, et al.
- VA War Related Illness and Injury Study Center: Exercise To Help Manage Chronic Pain and/or Fatigue
- Chicago Tribune; Exercise May Reduce Chronic Pain; Jeannine Stein; July 2010
