At this time of year, lots of people are trying to improve their health and fitness, but how can you exercise if you suffer with chronic pain? Is it even safe to exercise with chronic pain?
Exercising with chronic pain in your back, knee, neck or any other part of your body is possible, and chronic pain shouldn’t stop you from becoming healthier and happier.
If you do suffer with chronic pain, you just need to be a little more cautious about the type of exercise you choose, and the way you exercise.
But to be able to exercise safely and be confident that chronic pain won’t get worse leaving you in agony for days afterwards, address the root cause of your chronic pain is the long term solution.
Can Exercise Help With Chronic Pain?
YES – Exercise and keeping active in your daily life can help with chronic pain.
A lack of activity (either exercise-related activity or general activity such as walking around the house) can lead to your joints and muscles tightening and stiffening up.
In the long term, this can also lead to weaker muscles and bones, which increase the risk and severity of future injuries.
So exercising is a way that you actually help reduce your chronic pain symptoms.
What Exercise Helps With Chronic Pain?
For chronic pain sufferers, exercise is safe and beneficial as long as it doesn’t put too much strain or stress on your body.
If you are very inactive at the moment, start slowly and gradually build up using an easier form of exercise. If you do far too much, the chances are you are going to be very sore, and this is going to make it hard to be consistent.
Certain exercises like walking, cycling, pilates or swimming offer a safer way to become healthier and more active, with a smaller risk of aggravating your chronic pain due to the lower impact activity.
However, we would recommend varying your form of exercise to avoid potential issues due to repetition (so cycle one day, swim one day, yoga one day, and walk on the other days).
This is also keeps exercise interesting and can help people stay motivated with their exercise goals.
What If Your Chronic Pain Gets Worse With Exercise?
At our two clinics in Siouxland (Sioux City and Akron), we often treat chronic pain sufferers and any that visit with exercise related problems have often tried to do too much too soon, or picked the wrong type of exercise.
If you can follow the advice above, you should be able to exercise and get healthier without making your chronic pain getting worse.
But if your chronic pain is getting worse with exercise, there may be a more serious issue that you need to fix.
That’s where our physical therapy team can help you..
How Can I End My Chronic Pain?
Physical therapy and other treatment options such as EMTT, Shockwave Therapy, Orthotics and Cupping can deliver long term pain relief for niggling aches, and pain that keeps coming back!
At Impact Physical Therapy, you can overcome chronic pain without medication, so you can exercise without the worry and fear of chronic pain problems.
To discover whether you are a good fit for our natural, proven treatment options that have helped thousands of patients overcome pain, and enjoy an active life, arrange a Free Full Body Assessment.
To find out more about our Free Full Body Assessment, complete our simple webform or by calling our team on (712) 560-0460.
Not sure whether physical therapy is right for you?
We appreciate you may be apprehensive about physical therapy (because your doctors usually talk to you about medication, injections and surgery options only!) so we offer Free Discovery Visits where you can speak to a member of the team, get your questions answered and end the worry and confusion surrounding your chronic pain.
We also offer Free Telephone Consultations where you can speak to a member of the team from the comfort of your own home.
Other Ways To Help You Stay Active And Pain-Free
Download one of our free reports packed with proven tips to help relieve pain without painkillers – Back Pain, Hip Pain, Knee Pain or Neck and Shoulder Pain
Read our blog – What Is The Best Treatment For Arthritis In The Lower Back?
Read our blog – 5 Common Causes of Shoulder Pain That Physical Therapy Can Help
Follow us on social media- Impact Physical Therapy and Wellness
Proudly voted #1 for Physical Therapy at the Siouxland’s Choice Awards (2022) and proud Physical Therapy and Recovery Session provider to the Sioux City Bandits.
Dr. Keith’s background includes working extensively with foot and ankle issues as well as hip, knee, lower back , hand/wrist, elbow, shoulder and neck pain—including the treatment of acute and chronic headaches. He also works with athletic injuries and those who have chronic or lingering pain, even for years. He takes pride in being able to get positive outcomes with very difficult cases where other treatments or options have failed. He has treated individuals at all ages and skill levels from adolescents to elderly, weekend warriors to college and professional athletes—all with the purpose and goal to return them to their sport or activity that they love.
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