Do you have chronic pain? You
are not alone! Chronic pain can distress
the mind and the body. Over 80% of retired NFL football players experience
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 hard though! Luckily,
so many studies show that a tad bit of
optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more
reasons, Manahawkin Chiropractic Center incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain
patients’ Manahawkin chiropractic treatment plans!
EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY AND MIND
Exercise benefits go beyond the physical body
improvements. Exercise also improves 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 didn’t,
researchers found that pain disability scores in the exercisers
fell significantly more. In both groups, lowered
pain scores connected to higher self-efficacy scores
(feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ improved
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 reported
that improved self-efficacy was linked to decreased
disability regardless of any decrease
in pain intensity. They summarized that helping chronic
pain patients improve 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 attitude toward
pain can be a positive! Fear-avoidance is a
not-too-unusual a problem for patients with pain. They do not
want to do anything to aggravate their pain
and cause pain which leads to
less movement and less optimism for ever being without pain. Research showed 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)
Understanding this, we encourage our
Manahawkin pain patients to be active and not avoid
living life! Improvement 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
is the answer? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers noted in a recent study that exercise
programs combining a variety of forms
of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more
effective. Such arrangements are also more flexible
to an individual patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate
intensity exercise performed two to three times a week for a month were demonstrated 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) Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
works with each Manahawkin
chiropractic patient to formulate a plan just
for him/her.
CONTACT Manahawkin Chiropractic Center
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she
describes the effective gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating
chronic back pain.
Schedule your Manahawkin 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 Manahawkin Chiropractic Center. We’ll work together to decrease
pain and fear of pain and increase your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!