Chronic pain is a complex and multifaceted condition that affects millions of people worldwide. While exercise has been shown to have numerous physical benefits for managing chronic pain, which we delved into in our blog two weeks ago, it also has important psychological benefits that should not be overlooked!
In today’s blog, we will delve into three of the most significant psychological benefits that we see when working with clients who are living with chronic pain.
Learning That it is Safe to Move!
If you’ve ever experienced chronic pain, you know how easy it is to fall into the trap of fear and avoidance… Thankfully, one of the primary psychological benefits of exercise for chronic pain is that it can help reduce this fear of re-injury and movement-avoidance behaviours. When individuals experience chronic pain, they may become fearful of engaging in physical activity, which can lead to a vicious cycle of pain, fear, and avoidance. Exercise can help break this cycle by providing a safe and controlled environment in which individuals can gradually increase their activity level, building confidence and trust in their bodies and their ability to move without pain.
Breaking the Stress/Pain cycle
The cycle of pain and stress can become a relentless one. When someone is experiencing stress, this amplifies the pain experience… and that increased pain, in turn, causes more stress, creating a vicious circle that can be difficult to break (1). Fortunately, regular exercise has been shown to reduce stress levels, which can have a positive impact on chronic pain. Studies have found that exercise can reduce circulating cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress, and also reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression (2). By engaging in regular exercise, individuals can experience a reduction in stress, leading to a reduction in pain and an overall improvement in mental health.
Having an Active Role in Pain Management
Perhaps the factor that we find to be most important, is this one – providing clients an active role in their pain management. Any experience of ill health can leave people feeling helpless, and we hazard a guess that chronic pain is up there with the worst in relation to this feeling. On the other hand, when individuals feel like they have some control over their pain, it can improve their feeling of self-efficacy and reduce fear or uncertainty around pain. Exercise is of course a fantastic way to promote this. By setting achievable goals and seeing progress, individuals can gain a sense of control, and in doing so increase their sense of hope and optimism for the future, which is key for optimising outcomes.
Living with chronic pain can feel like being trapped in a never-ending cycle of suffering, but it doesn’t have to be this way…
By understanding both the physical and the psychological benefits of exercise and using it to take an active role in pain management, individuals can break free from the chains of chronic pain and do more of the things they love.
If you know someone suffering from chronic pain, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to help!
Author: Tessa Nielsen
Clinical Exercise Physiologist and
Content Creator at Specialised Health
References:
- Stults-Kolehmainen, M. A., & Sinha, R. (2014). The effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. Sports Medicine, 44(1), 81-121.
- Stubbs, B., Vancampfort, D., Thompson, T., Veronese, N., Carvalho, A. F., & Solmi, M. (2018). Pain and severe mental illness: a systematic review of research addressing the relationship between psychiatric mental illness and pain among people with severe mental illnesses. PROSPERO. CRD42018091098.
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