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MARCH 6

EXERCISE, MOVEMENT

PHYSICAL BALANCE

“The less we move, the more pain we have when we do move, causing us to move less. It becomes a vicious and painful cycle. The only solution for this ‘un-movement syndrome’ is moving.”

Adapted from A Day without Pain

When I’m in pain, I feel inclined to rest and avoid exercise; however, exercise is one of the best things I can do to reduce my pain, as I learned in the book Pain Recovery. The danger of inactivity is that my body becomes de-conditioned, which can add substantially to my perception and experience of pain. Studies have shown that regular and sustained physical activity is beneficial to virtually every system in my body. During exercise, my body releases chemicals called endorphins, which naturally relieve pain and also help to lessen my anxiety and depression. The four major types of exercise are cardiovascular, strength training, balance, and stretching.

Other benefits of regular exercise are that it helps me to maintain a healthy weight, increases my flexibility so I don’t strain muscles and joints, helps me build strength, increases my serotonin levels, which improves my mood and fights my pain, and protects and strengthens my heart and circulatory system while increasing my dopamine levels, which results in improving my mood and giving me energy.

I make sure to exercise because not only is it good for my recovery today, it is insurance for tomorrow.