Exercise May Help You Better Tolerate Pain

Chronic pain is now more prevalent in the U.S. than either depression or diabetes. It can be persistent and hard to treat—but two recent studies, one about a potential intervention and another about chronic pain’s origins, shed light on the increasingly common condition. Research published May 24 in the journal Plos ONE suggests that even though exercise may be the last thing a person living with pain wants to do, it could be a critical element to recovery. Using data from a large Norwegian population study of 10,732 adults, researchers at the University Hospital of North Norway in Tromsø analyzed people’s self-reported activity levels and their pain tolerance (measured by submerging people’s hands in ice water and having them rank their pain on a scale). People were surveyed twice, about eight years apart. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Those with more active lifestyles were found to be more tolerant to pain—and the more people said they exercised over the course of the study, the more their capacity for enduring pain grew. When both survey years were taken into account, those who had increased their levels of physical activity in the interim period reported greater pain tolerance over time. It’s possible, the authors write, that moving more frequently could be used as a “non-pharmacological pathway towards reducing or preventing chronic pain.” Read More: Why Tai Chi Works So Well For Pain Relief One reaso...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Exercise & Fitness healthscienceclimate Source Type: news