Chronic Pain: Move It to Lose It

Those natural pain-fighters lower your perception of pain whether you have chronic pain or not, according to Martin D. Hoffman, MD, FACSM, CIME, chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation, Veterans Affairs Northern California Health Care System. Dr. Hoffman and his co-researchers found that aerobic exercise, when conducted at moderate intensity, caused pain perception to go down markedly. That drop was evident for both healthy participants and for those who suffered from chronic back pain. "They showed the same effect," says Dr. Hoffman.

That chemical response may boost your mood as well, which can contribute to pain control, although that result might occur only if you exercise regularly, Dr. Hoffman adds.

Getting started

For most people with chronic pain, Dr. Stanos emphasizes the importance of beginning with just a few minutes of exercise at a time. "Then, each week, increase what you're doing incrementally, in some cases one to two minutes at a time," he says.

That snail's pace pays off. "If people start an exercise program and do a graded type of progression, they are more likely to tolerate it. Unfortunately, most people with pain try to do too much and then increase their pain and stop," Dr. Stanos says. "This leads to more discouragement and feelings like, 'I can't exercise at all.'"

One activity Dr. Stanos recommends for most chronic pain conditions is water aerobics, also called aqua therapy. Exercising in the water reduces the amount of force traveling through your joints, allows muscles to move in many directions and increases blood flow to the heart, providing additional cardiac benefits. "Aquatic exercises can really benefit most patients," Dr. Stanos says.

Relaxation training also helps you learn to relax your muscles, making them better prepared for movement.

Here are several of the most common chronic pain conditions and the physical activities that can help alleviate them: