Progress rather than perfection! Exercising with persistent pain in your older years!

With age comes more wisdom, knowledge and experience! 

But unfortunately, pain also increases with age. 1 in 5 (20%) people aged 65–74 reported having chronic pain, increasing to 22% of those aged 75–84 and 24% of those 85 and over. 

I truly believe knowledge is power and with changes in understanding around persistent pain let's have that understanding widespread. That is what the purpose of this blog is, to help the older and wiser population understand pain and how we can help. 

It's Like an Alarm on Your Car

Persistent pain management has progressed immensely over the last 10-15 years. From a completely biomedical approach (I hurt because the body tissues are damaged) to a more contemporary model based on the most recent research that tells us that pain is a protection mechanism for the body to prevent injury or damage. 

In simple terms, pain is the alarm system of the body, it gives us a protective buffer and reminds us not to do too much too soon. It is a safeguard to keep our body and its tissues safe. It is a normal response to potential danger and is always 100% real! 
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What do I mean? Ever reversed your car into a pole? Before you hit the pole, the car beeps at you and warns you of the danger behind you. Well, this is like pain. As you get closer to the pole the car beeps faster and faster and eventually if you ignore it, you hit the pole and injure the car (ouch). 

Once injured, the sensitivity of this alarm goes up, things that might not have hurt before, do and things that would only hurt a little, hurt a lot. This is for protection and to promote healing.

Usually, as the body heals the sensitivity decreases and everything goes back to normal. Think of being sunburned and getting in a hot shower. That burns doesn't it? But once the body heals from sunburn that same shower doesn't hurt anymore.
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​The overprotective Alarm

Now you have a grip on why pain is needed. Let's dive into when it hangs around! This is caused by an over-sensitive pain system. 

What this means is that the pain system that had increased its sensitivity due to an injury has not returned to normal, even though normal healing has taken place, pain has continued. This is unhelpful and prevents recovery. 

Think of the beeping car. The car beeps faster and louder even though you aren't in danger of hitting the pole. 

Unfortunately, I can't answer why the pain system may stay in overprotective mode but there are some things I can tell you: 
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• The longer we have pain the more sensitive the pain system gets.
• The pain system always involves a combination of factors. Understanding what influences your pain system can help you identify what you can do to change it.
• The contributors to an overprotective pain system are different for each person.
• The good news: the process that creates the overprotective pain system can also reduce it.

How does exercising turn the alarm down? 
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We here at Optimum EP advocate strongly for exercise because we know the huge amount of benefit someone can see in all aspects of their health. And you guessed it, Exercise can be a helpful mechanism for perisitent pain also. 

This proces is called exercise hypoalgesia which simply means engaging in exercise can help alleviate or decrease painful symptoms. This happen several different ways including:  

• Natural Painkillers: The release of endorphins during exercise.
• Natural Anti inflammatory: Regular physical activity can reduce inflammation, thereby decreasing pain.
• Improved Blood Flow: Improved blood flow can help reduce muscle tension, alleviate stiffness, and increase the delivery of nutrients to affected areas, all of which can contribute to pain relief.
• Turns down the pain radio: Exercise can alter the way the central nervous system processes pain signals. Imagine being able to turn down the radio when it is to loud. 
• Makes you happy and you focus on something different: Engaging in exercise often shifts a person's focus away from their pain and toward the activity at hand and can enhance mood and reduce stress, which can indirectly impact pain.
• Enhance ability to change: By engaging in regular physical activity, the brain may become more adaptable, allowing it to rewire its responses to danger signals.

​Now disclaimer incoming: Exercise may not completely alleviate pain, BUT it can significantly improve pain management, reduce the need for pain medications, and enhance overall well-being. 

Haven’t convinced you yet?

Now if you are struggling with the idea of exercise for pain management let me indulge in a little advocating. 

Exercise is the most powerful intervention in which can simultaneously help management huge range of different chronic conditions and give you a enormous amount of benefit in one action. 

“If exercise was made into a pill, it would be the most prescribed pill in the world.”

Read that one again. 

Exercise is so powerful in some cases research has shown it to out-perform medication. 

And guess what, it is all natural, anyone can do it and it is free. 

Now I am going to list 10 different ways exercise can help you aside from pain management: 
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• Improved Physical Fitness: Exercise enhances your cardiovascular health, muscular strength, and endurance, making everyday activities easier.
• Weight Management: Regular exercise helps control weight by burning calories and increasing metabolism.
• Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases: Exercise lowers the risk of conditions like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.
• Enhanced Mental Health: Physical activity reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress while improving mood.
• Stronger Bones and Joints: Weight-bearing exercises promote bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
• Better Sleep: Regular exercise can lead to more restful sleep and improved sleep patterns.
• Increased Energy: Physical activity boosts energy levels and reduces feelings of fatigue.
• Improved Cognitive Function: Exercise enhances brain function, memory, and cognitive abilities.
• Better Immune Function: Regular exercise can strengthen the immune system, reducing the risk of illness.
• Social Engagement: Participating in group activities or classes can foster social connections and a sense of community.

Tips for starting!

The key to successfully starting an exercise program with persistent pain is to: 

• Start gradually and with a clear plan in mind. 

 

• Set achievable goals, whether they're related to pain relief, improved mobility, or enhanced well-being. 

 

• Acknowledge flare ups. Flare ups are normal in persistent pain and sometimes cant be explained. With the knowledge you now have you can be confident that even though the pain you experience may be more, this doesn't always relate to further injury.

 

• Focus on progress not perfection. Some exercise is better than none and just because you may have to take a step back or go sideways for the time being doesn't mean you are failing or it's not worth it. 

The journey is unique for each person, so there's no need to rush. In fact, taking the time to build a solid foundation is often the path to long-term success. Seek the guidance of one of our Accredited Exercise Physiologist to tailor your exercise plan to your specific needs and limitations.

​Remember, the most important thing is to start, keep moving forward at your own pace, and celebrate the small victories along the way.

Izaac Boylan 
Accredited Exercise Physiologist