Exercise Combats West Des Moines Chronic Pain and Related Distress
Do you have chronic pain? You’re not alone! Chronic pain can work on the mind and the body. Over 80% of retired NFL football players experience 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 hard though! Luckily, so many studies show that some optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more reasons, Executive Chiropractic of Iowa incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain patients’ West Des Moines chiropractic treatment plans!
EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY AND MIND
Exercise benefits go beyond the physical body improvements. Exercise also enhances 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 dropped significantly more. In both groups, reduced pain scores connected to higher self-efficacy scores (feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ increased disability showed 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 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 common 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 periods with pain who expressed greater self-efficacy and patients with higher pain disability and depression had lower self-efficacy. (4) Knowing this, we encourage our West Des Moines pain patients to be active and not avoid 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 linked to chronic musculoskeletal pain and can even heighten it! What’s the solution? Physical exercise, of course. Researchers explained in a new study that exercise programs that combine several forms of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more effective. Such arrangements are also more adaptable to a particular patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate intensity exercise done two to three times a week for a month were found 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) Executive Chiropractic of Iowa designs a strategy specially for each West Des Moines chiropractic patient.
CONTACT Executive Chiropractic of Iowa
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she shares the effectiveness of the gentle protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating chronic back pain.
Make your West Des Moines chiropractic appointment today. Whether you are a retired NFL player or NFL fan or neither of these, bring your chronic pain and worried mind to Executive Chiropractic of Iowa. Let’s work together to decrease pain and fear of pain and improve your sense of independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!
