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Natural Pain Management: Exercise & Chronic Pain

by: Tanja Gardner

Copyright 2005 Tanja Gardner

When you find yourself living with pain every minute of every hour of every day, just getting up in the morning can seem like too much to ask. When you find it hard to remember the last time you weren�t in pain, it�s not unusual for fear and depression to take hold and drag you into a downward spiral that makes the pain even worse. Even on good days, exercising can still be the last thing you feel like doing.

There�s evidence, however, that exercise may be one of the best things you can do to help manage chronic pain. A recent (2000) study by Martin Hoffman found that moderate exercise reduced the amount of pain people suffering from chronic back-ache perceived they felt. Other anecdotal studies and reports have confirmed that sometimes, activity can work wonders.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXERCISE & PAIN RELIEF

Experts have suggested four possible reasons for the pain-reducing effect of activity. The first has to do with endorphins. These are chemicals your body produces naturally during exercise, which have the same kind of effect as opiates like morphine and codeine. Endorphins actually block the perception of pain, and create a general feeling of wellness, both of which are invaluable to someone with chronic pain.

A second reason is that regular activity helps to improve both the ease with which we fall asleep, and the quality of our rest once we do. Pain, can become more or less difficult to deal with depending on our resource levels. Most sufferers experience difficulty sleeping when the pain is bad, which can prompt another downward spiral. Something that helps us sleep better, means more energy and resources, which in turn, allows us to cope better with the pain we experience.

A third is that exercise helps release tension (see Exercise & Stress for an explanation of why). Tension, stress and frustration, as any sufferer of chronic pain will attest, increase pain levels. This means that anything that helps relax the body will also usually help reduce pain levels.

Finally, if the chronic pain occurs after an injury, targeted exercise can strengthen the muscles around the injury site, taking pressure off the injured tissue. Of course, the wrong kind of exercise can actually re-injure the area too, so it�s important to get professional guidance from a physiotherapist, or a personal trainer who specialises in rehabilitation work, rather than trying to go it alone.

USING EXERCISE TO HELP YOU MANAGE PAIN

An important disclaimer: this article is written assuming that, if you�re experiencing chronic pain, you�re already working with a healthcare professional to manage it (and if not, you need to be!) Check any suggestions you want to try with that professional, and follow their recommendations. Also, if an activity increases your pain levels, don�t do it. It�s OK to have muscles that are tired and slightly sore the day after. It�s not OK to experience any joint pain or sharp, stabbing pain during or after exercise, or anything that makes your chronic pain worse. If you experience any of these, seek advice from your healthcare professional as soon as possible.

That said, the most beneficial kind of exercise depends very much on the individual. One of Optimum Life�s key principles is that activity will always do more good if it�s something you enjoy. This is even more important when you experience chronic pain, when something you start dreading or tensing up about can quickly make your condition worse. Additionally, it helps if you choose activities that give you a good range of aerobic, strength, and flexibility exercises. Good potential choices to start with include walking, swimming, stationary cycling, yoga or t�ai chi.

Finally, be aware that exercise will be most helpful for pain management if it�s one out of many tools you use. Medication, diet, visualisation, relaxation, acupuncture and biofeedback have all been shown to have positive effects on pain individually � but the best effects seem to come from taking a multi-disciplinary approach. Take time to research the different therapies available to you. There are a number of excellent pain management sites online � two of the more popular ones include The Chronic Pain Haven or The Mayo Clinic.

Chronic pain will never be fun to live with, but there are options available that make it more manageable. Give yourself the gift of being willing to try out different options until you find the combination that�s right for you, and don�t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Meanwhile, until the next issue, may every day bring you closer to your Optimum Life.

If you have any questions about this week�s article, please don�t hesitate to contact me. Otherwise, until next time, may every day bring you closer to your Optimum Life.

About the author:
Optimum Life's Tanja Gardner is a Personal Trainer and Stress Management Coach whose articles on holistic health and relaxation have appeared in various media since 1999. Optimum Life is dedicated to providing fitness and stress management services to help clients all over the world achieve their optimum lives. To read more articles like this one, please subscribe to Optimum Fitness News at To find out more about how you could benefit from online personal training, please visit . To find out more about holistic fitness and stress management please visit or contact Tanja on tanja@optimumlife.co.nz.

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Mom's Job Stress May Spread to Kids
by: Rita Jenkins

Low job satisfaction in working mothers increases the stress levels of their children, but allowing them to spend more time in childcare can help overcome these effects, according to new research published in Developmental Psychobiology.

Children whose mothers found their jobs emotionally exhausting or otherwise less rewarding had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than children whose mothers reported more enjoyment from their jobs, researchers found in a study involving more than 50 nursery school children.

Levels of cortisol in the evening were more than double in the children whose mothers experienced less job satisfaction. Placing those children in childcare would help to significantly reduce their stress, the research suggests.

The researchers also found that children from families that were either highly expressive or very reserved exhibited higher than average cortisol levels.

Greater support is needed for working mothers to help improve their job satisfaction and increase the availability of affordable childcare options, says the report.

More Time in Childcare

Dr. Julie Turner-Cobb, a health psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Bath, Dr. Christina Chryssanthopoulou from the University of Kent and Dr. David Jessop, a neuroimmunologist at the University of Bristol collaborated on the study.

To measure cortisol levels, they took saliva samples in the morning and evening from 56 children aged three to four years old. They also surveyed mothers about their workplace conditions and home life over a six month period.

"Spending more time in childcare makes a big difference to the stress levels in children whose mothers have low job satisfaction," says Dr. Turner-Cobb.

"It can help protect children from the effects of their mother's low job quality and emotional exhaustion. Ensuring that mothers of young children have good support in the workplace is essential for supporting both mothers and their children," she adds.

"Improving the job satisfaction of working mothers means that they are less stressed themselves," says Dr. Jessop, "and extending the availability of affordable and adequate childcare may not only improve the quality of life for the mothers but, in doing so, may improve the long term health of their children."

Healthy Adaptation to Stress

Cortisol is a steroid hormone that regulates blood pressure and cardiovascular function and immune function. It also controls the body's use of proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Cortisol secretion increases in response to stress, whether physical -- such as illness, trauma, surgery or temperature extremes -- or psychological. It is a normal and essential response without which we would not be able to function in everyday life.

When these levels remain high or become disrupted in some way over a prolonged period of time, however, they may have consequences for health. It is important to promote healthy adaptation to stress in children, and good quality childcare is one way of doing this, say the authors.

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