Do you have chronic pain? You’re 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 revealed that
the greater the pain acceptance, the lower the pain intensity they experienced.
(1) Accepting pain is hard though! Fortunately,
so many studies show that a tad bit of
optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more
reasons, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain
patients’ McHenry chiropractic treatment plans!
EXERCISE: GOOD FOR BODY AND MIND
Exercise benefits extend 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 did not,
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 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 reported
that improved self-efficacy was associated with decreased
disability whether they felt any decrease
of pain intensity. They summarized that helping chronic
pain patients raise 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 outlook toward
pain can be a plus! Fear-avoidance is a
not-too-unusual a problem for patients with pain. They do not
want to do anything to provoke their condition
and cause pain which leads to
less movement and less optimism for a life without
pain. Research showed that patients with longer episodes
of pain who stated greater self-efficacy and
patients with higher pain disability and depression had lower self-efficacy. (4)
Knowing this, we encourage our
McHenry pain patients to be physical and keep
living life! ’Better’ is just around the corner!
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 exacerbate it! What’s the solution? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers explained in a recent study that exercise
programs combining several forms
of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more
effective. Such combinations are also more adaptable
to a particular patient’s issues. Light-to-moderate
intensity exercise done two to three times a week for just 4
weeks were demonstrated 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) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
works with each McHenry
chiropractic patient to formulate a plan just
for him/her.
CONTACT OrthoIllinois Chiropractic
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.
Make your McHenry chiropractic
appointment now. Whether you are a retired NFL
player or NFL fan or neither of these, bring your chronic pain and worried mind
to OrthoIllinois Chiropractic. Let’s work together to reduce
pain and fear of pain and increase your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!