Do you have chronic pain? You aren’t alone! Chronic pain can distress
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 experienced.
(1) Accepting pain is a challenge though! Luckily,
so many studies show that some
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 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, especially one dealing with
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 correlated with higher self-efficacy scores
(feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ increased
disability showed a beneficial effect
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 linked to decreased
disability whether they felt any decrease
in pain intensity. They concluded that helping chronic
pain patients raise 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 provoke their condition
and exacerbate pain which leads them to move less and have less optimism for a life 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
Ashburn pain patients to be physical and keep
living life! Improvement is just around the corner!
EXERCISE: Time to Move!
And we all know it: physical inactivity and sedentary
lifestyle are not good for us. Researchers go so
far as to write that they are linked to chronic
musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What
is the answer? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers pointed out in a recent study that exercise
programs combining a variety of types
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 performed 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) Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn
designs a strategy specially for
each Ashburn chiropractic patient.
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
shares the effective gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating
chronic back pain.
Make your Ashburn 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 Poulin Chiropractic of Herndon and Ashburn. Let’s work together to decrease
pain and fear of pain and raise your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!