This is an installment payment for good fita column about exercise.
They call it “runner’s high”. You’ve been sitting at your desk for hours, so lethargic, foggy, and in pain you go out for a run. At first, you may question even stepping outside. I’m sweaty and short of breath, and my legs are stiff and heavy. What’s the fun in hitting the pavement with your foot over and over again?
And after 20 minutes of running, my head starts spinning. The colors of the sky and the voices of the birds are more vivid. Your stride quickens and you feel invisible. And perhaps the persistent pain in my knee fades into the background noise.
You’ve probably heard of endorphins, happy chemicals that your body produces in response to exercise and other forms of stress. What you may not know is that endorphins are opioids. It binds to the same receptors and has the same analgesic effects as drugs such as oxycodone and oxycodone. A workout floods your body with natural opioids and anti-inflammatory chemicals.
These opioids enhance mood and act as antidepressants. Exercise can also be a powerful tool for recovery from chronic pain (unlike acute pain, which is a symptom of injury). Akiko Okito, an anesthesiologist at the University of Utah’s Department of Pain Medicine, says she will be able to take advantage of “our internal pain medication.”. These effects go well beyond the euphoria you experience when you get home from the gym. I have.
Pain is the brain’s way of protecting you from physical damage. Nerves in your tissues relay information to your brain in response to stimuli, from the tickle of a gentle breeze to the burning of a hot stove. increase. When you sprain your ankle, the sharp pain you feel when you take a step is your brain’s warning that you’re at risk of further ligament damage.
But the brain is an unreliable narrator. In many cases of chronic pain, the negative sensations caused by injury outlast the physical damage to the body. “Just like we learn to ride a bike, our brain can actually learn to experience pain in specific areas of the body.” Chronic Pain Science. For example, ankle pain can get worse and even spread after the torn muscle is stitched back together. Emotions such as fear, certain chemicals produced by the body, and many other factors can sensitize the nervous system to harmless stimuli, resulting in muscle fatigue and weight bearing on perfectly healthy joints. Even benign sensations, such as, feel like burning pain.. This pain is as real as the immediate experience of an injury. It just became useless. Then exercise becomes an important tool.
In one study published in the journal, pain In 2020, researchers asked 38 participants with chronic back pain to complete three 30-minute aerobic exercise sessions per week for six weeks, including exercise on a bicycle, elliptical, treadmill, or stair machine. I was. All participants completed a ‘heat pain task’ before and after completing a full exercise program. In this task, participants sat wearing a metal device that became progressively hotter until it became unbearable. Naloxone, a drug that blocks opioid receptors and prevents endorphins from exerting their pain-relieving effects, or saline, which does nothing. (Participants were unaware of the injections they were receiving.)
The researchers then compared how each participant rated pain when receiving saline versus naloxone. I experienced a significant reduction in pain when I was given saline compared to when I was given. I noticed the bad effects. The more vigorously participants in the exercise group tended to exercise, the greater the difference in pain. Only 9% of participants in the control group experienced pain relief from saline injections. After all, non-exercisers did not have natural pain relievers in abundance. Instead, they suggested that a consistent exercise routine generally increases circulating opioids in the body.
Exercise not only produces opioids, it is also anti-inflammatory, which has the ultimate effect of reducing pain at its source, said Kathleen Sulka, a professor of physical therapy and pain researcher at the University of Iowa. The body becomes inflamed when the immune system kicks in in response to pathogens, injuries, and other stressors. This response aids in short-term healing. However, inflammation often lasts longer in people with chronic pain. Inflammatory molecules released by white blood cells called cytokines actually excite nerve cells, sensitive to stimulationsending more alarm messages to the brain.
Exercise suppresses this response. In one study, scientists measured the amount of inflammatory markers in the blood of her 47 participants before and after exercise. Results published in the journal in 2017 Brain, Behavior, Immunity, Participants found that just 20 minutes of brisk walking on the treadmill reduced pro-inflammatory cytokines by an average of 5%.
“I want to say You can take 5 pills or exercise to activate these systemssaid Surka. Analysis for 2022 Of 13 different studies, exercise was found to be associated with greater pain reduction than nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (a category of drugs that includes ibuprofen), and exercise ranked above both opioids and NSAIDs. Although the differences described in the paper were minor, the study noted that exercise had a lower initial cost and a lower risk of side effects and complications. has other advantages as well. blood pressureimproved memory and learningand just feels good— Benefits you don’t get from ibuprofen.
When you’re dealing with acute pain from a sports injury, your body desperately needs rest, or exercise from a physiotherapist to support recovery. It is recommended that you begin an exercise program with a professional who understands your chronic pain and can ensure that movement does not aggravate the injury. tend to decrease after a few weeks of physical activity, Sluka said.
Of course, starting an exercise program when you’re in pain can feel counterintuitive and intimidating, especially if your chronic pain started with a sports injury. I’ve been dealing with chronic pain resulting from a running injury and getting back into my workout program was the last thing I wanted to do. I was afraid that my recovery would be further delayed or my pain would get worse.So I rested, cooled down, and waited for the pain to go away. Before I was able to jump start that recovery.
What I didn’t know at the time is that starting to exercise can hurt at first, and that’s okay. As long as the pain occurs primarily during exercise and doesn’t get worse afterwards, it’s okay to feel some discomfort, says Sluka. “The pain during activity will eventually decrease, as will overall pain,” she explained.
It doesn’t really matter what kind of physical activity you do, Deutsch said. The most important thing is to enjoy what feels sustainable. But there’s stronger evidence that aerobic exercise (walking, running, tai chi, or anything that gets your blood flowing) works better than strength training, says Okifuji.
Whatever activity you choose, it’s important to start slowly. If you’re dealing with chronic pain, a key factor in resuming exercise is convincing your brain that you’re safe, Okifuji said. , the anxiety experienced about physical activity and the expectation that it will trigger a flare-up can actually amplify the pain signal. nocebo effect, aka the “devil’s twin” of the placebo effect. Take baby steps. In terms of activities, estimate your abilities and then do much less, says Okito. Or you’re walking to your mailbox. It may be very minor. But you have to be consistent. “Once the activity becomes tolerable, you can slowly increase the amount and intensity,” she added.
Finally, understand that you will experience setbacks. “Improvements are usually not linear,” says Okito. “It takes time and it takes effort.” Listen to your body. If you don’t feel like it, it’s okay to reduce the intensity, Okito said.
just do something.commit just three minute. “
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