Do you have chronic pain? You aren’t alone! Chronic pain can work on
the mind and the body. Over 80% of retired NFL football players reported having
pain daily. A recent questionnaire study of them found 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 little
optimism and physical activity improves pain and optimism. For these and more
reasons, Hollstrom & Associates Inc incorporates exercise into our chronic back pain
patients’ Largo 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 did not,
researchers found that pain disability scores in the exercisers
dropped significantly more. In both groups, lowered
pain scores correlated with higher self-efficacy scores
(feelings of independence). Chronic low back pain exercisers’ increased
disability reflected a positive 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 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 tweak 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 common problem for patients with pain. They do not
want to do anything to worsen their pain
and cause pain which leads them to move less and have less optimism for ever being without pain. Research indicated 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 support our
Largo pain patients to be active and keep
living life! Improvement is coming!
EXERCISE: Time to Move!
And we all know it: physical inactivity and sedentary
lifestyle are not beneficial for us. Researchers go so
far as to write that they are linked to chronic
musculoskeletal pain and can even exacerbate it! What’s the solution? Physical exercise, of course.
Researchers pointed out in a new study that exercise
programs combining several types
of exercise – flexibility, balance, aerobic, strengthening – tend to be more
effective. Such combinations are also more adaptable
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) Hollstrom & Associates Inc
works with each Largo
chiropractic patient to make a plan just
for him/her.
CONTACT Hollstrom & Associates Inc
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. Kelly Brinkman on The
Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she
details the effectiveness of the gentle
protocols of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management in treating
chronic back pain.
Schedule your Largo 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 Hollstrom & Associates Inc. We’ll work together to reduce
pain and fear of pain and raise your sense of
independence and joy of life with chiropractic and exercise!