If you’re suffering from any painful condition, whether its fibromyalgia, injury, arthritis, knee pain, or whatever the case may be, the last thing you might want to do is exercise! But research has found that the lack of movement is counterintuitive to the healing process and that low-impact exercise actually reduces pain and sets your body’s innate healing mechanisms into motion. Any kind of movement is good – as long as you move!
Here are a few tips that can make it a little easier to start exercising when you’re in pain.
Go Slow
Starting slowly is one of the best things to do. You want to begin by moving your body mindfully, which might take some time. So, patience is key here. Jumping into high intensity training because you’re feeling frustrated and anxious about never getting back to the fitness level you once were is not the way to go. Take some deep breaths and go much slower than you normally would. With time, you’ll be able to up the ante.
Topical Pain Relief Lotion
While oral medications are an option to combat the pain, they can produce unwanted side effects. That’s where topical pain relievers become your best friend! They are a proven, well-controlled pain relief option that allows you to apply the pain reliver in the exact areas that need relief without the concern of side effects or dehydration. If you are looking to buy something at your local drug store, it is recommended to look for something that contains menthol or methyl salicylate, as they are proven by the FDA as pain relieving topical agents.
Do What You Love
Consider this time period as a moment to ease off a bit and move your body in a new way – or an old one – one that you used to love doing. Did you dance when you were younger or take long hikes in the woods when you were a kid? Perhaps you haven’t donned a snowshoe since that time you traveled to the mountains. Now’s the time to do low-impact exercise that brings you joy. For ideas, here’s a list of different forms of exercise you can start doing even while in the throes of pain:
- Walking
- Swimming
- Water Aerobics
- Biking
- Yoga
- Strength Training with Light Barbells
Isometric Exercise- Pilates
- Gardening
- Qigong
- Tai Chi
- Elliptical Machine
- Bike rides
- Hiking
- Kayaking
- Snowshoeing
- Ballroom Dancing
- Golfing
Why Should I Start Exercising?
One study shows that we experience pain differently if we exercise regularly. We even develop a higher tolerance for pain the more we work out. One reason for this is that exercise makes the body release feel good chemicals like endorphins, which actually work to fight pain. One study, which was published in Medicine and Science in Sports & Exercise, found that our response to pain depends upon our pain threshold, and our pain threshold is significantly higher the more we exercise (1).
Have fun and go slow. It’s about the journey – not the destination!
Related Content: Exercise?! Do You Realize How Much I Hurt?, How Does Exercise Reduce Pain?, 10 Tips to Relieve Chronic Pain Naturally
You can check out our articles and tips to learn a multitude of ways to start relieving your pain naturally!
At Real Time Pain Relief, we not only care about the quality ingredients that go into each and every one of our products – but also about the people who buy them. We hope this blog, and the articles posted on it, become a valued resource for your own personal journey to better health. We know natural products that reduce your pain at the source are important to you, and for more than 17 years, our Real Time Pain Relief rub-on has been providing fast acting, targeted pain relief with natural ingredients to thousands of satisfied customers. From the useful information on this blog to our high-quality natural products, we hope you become one of the thousands of customers telling us they “Enjoy Living Again!”
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