Need Relief For Aches And Pains? Turn To Exercise

29 April 2016 by Brent Woods

Visiting your local healthcare professional is important if you're suffering from any type of persistent pain, but it's valuable to know that you can often effectively manage the symptoms on your own. While you should never opt for self-care over the professional guidance of a healthcare professional, there are times at which you'll be told that the pain isn't serious and that you can treat it with medication. If you're not a fan of medication, there's an easy way to get natural pain relief — through exercise. Exercise can help you manage and eliminate everyday aches and pains and boost your overall quality of life. Here's what to know about it.

Why It Helps

Exercise can be an effective weapon against pain for multiple reasons. Provided that your workout intensity isn't so vigorous that it increases your discomfort, the exercise will loosen your muscles and get your blood flowing. These are both valuable ways to overcome pain that is associated with a lack of mobility — for example, if you're chronically stiff when you wake up in the morning. Exercise also produces hormones called endorphins. The release of these hormones is a natural way of enhancing your mood. This is ideal in two regards; it will lift your mood if you've been feeling down because of your pain, while also making you keen on exercising again.

What You Can Do

The good news is that if you're wanting to get pain relief through exercise, the list of options at your disposal is virtually endless. There's no one universally accepted exercise for pain management; you have to find what works for you. Walking is something that many people do for pain management. Provided it's done at a reasonable pace, there's little chance of worsening the pain. Additionally, you can walk at virtually every stage of your day — in the morning, on breaks at work, while you're running errands and in the evening before bed. Other things such as cycling, swimming, jogging and more can be effective pain relievers, provided you can perform each exercise comfortably.

What To Aim For

While you might find relief for your pain after just one period of exercise, it's ideal to make exercise a part of your daily schedule. Keeping active provides a host of benefits beyond just pain management, and people who are frequently active will often develop fewer injuries and aches than those who are sedentary. In finding an exercise regimen that works for you, keep in mind that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation for adults is to get no fewer than 2.5 hours of medium-intensity exercise every week. 

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