Who hasn’t reached for pain relievers when achy joints or a pulled muscle occurs. While that might be a solution for the occasional aches and pains, for chronic pain it isn’t that easy. Long term use of most pain relievers have serious consequences that range from stomach pain to increasing the risk of a heart attack. If you’re hunting for natural pain relief that won’t damage your body further, exercises for pain relief can be a big benefit.
Just go for a walk or even pace a bit.
Whether you go for a swim or a walk, it can help bring relief from pain. While your first instinct may be to lay down and hope the pain diminishes, studies show that actually exacerbates it. Pain is often a combination of mental and physical conditions. Your body hurts and you become anxious or even depressed, making you even more immobile and causing pain to increase. Aerobic exercise boosts circulation, which often helps reduce symptoms, and increases natural pain relieving hormones. There are cases where people with tooth pain had no other means to reduce pain than to pace all night until the dentist opened and it helped tremendously.
Stay active while you reduce the pressure on joints.
If you have back pain, arthritis or other types of joint pain and have access to a pool, head there immediately. Your body’s buoyancy in the water relieves the pressure on muscles and joints. The low-impact nature of these exercises, compared to those that are land-based, not only boosts circulation, but relieves the pressure on joints. One study showed that exercise on both land and in water helped relieve chronic back pain but exercising in water produced better results for improving the quality of life. Rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia also responded better to water exercise.
Flexibility and strength training not only can relieve chronic pain, but it can also prevent it.
Improving your range of motion helps prevent injuries when you exercise or perform the tasks of daily living. It can also aid in preventing falls. Flexibility exercises help loosen tight muscles to bring relief, too. Tai Chi and yoga are probably the best known types of this training, but simply stretching also helps. Strengthening muscles can also improve posture, which is excellent for back pain and often other types of chronic pain. Focusing on core muscles relieves back pain.
- It takes a well-rounded program of exercise to help prevent pain and keep it at bay. If you’re under a doctor’s care for pain management, discuss the safest type of exercise for your condition.
- Using exercise instead of pain killers not only is better for your body, improving fitness and aiding in weight maintenance, it also can help prevent addiction to pain killers. Studies show people recovering from opiate addiction find relief when adding exercise to their schedule.
- Doing strength training not only will help reduce pain, but it can also prevent chronic pain. A program of balanced regular exercise can build core muscles that will prevent injury, while reducing chronic pain.
- Just staying active can help with pain. Sometimes diverting your attention away from aches and pains brings relief. By diverting attention, it helps the muscles to relax and move in ways the reduce pain.
For more information, contact us today at Targeted Nutrition Technologies
