Relaxed movement and physical activity are vital to helping you manage your pain to keep doing the everyday things that are important to you. After an acute injury (for example rolling your ankle or hurting your back), the body’s first natural instinct is to tense up and protect the body. Naturally, this will result in wanting to limit movement to minimise further harm. This protective response should only last for the first 24-48 hours. After this period, limiting movement can become THE cause of pain.
Research has shown that movement and exercise can be super beneficial in reducing pain and improving function for people with musculoskeletal pain. Even for more serious conditions like Osteoporosis or post-surgical rehabilitation, movement and exercise form a key part of your recovery.
Recent evidence on lower limb Osteoarthritis compared the effect of not exercising vs. an exercise program in reducing symptomatic pain. Exercising showed a statistically significant reduction in pain compared to the non-exercising cohort. Further still, the size of the benefit was shown to be much larger compared to using Paracetamol for hip or knee Osteoarthritis.
Not only does movement and exercise help with physical pain and function, it can also help your health holistically. Improving function (helping to engage with daily household tasks, work, socialising etc) through movement and exercise has been shown to have key beneficial ‘flow on’ effects, including reduced disability, reduced rates of depression, improved physical conditioning and increased quality of life!
If you are looking for advice on a recent injury and how to best start exercising after an injury, see how Physiotherapy can help! Our Physiotherapist Oliver can be found at HealthSpace Rozelle (9810 8769) and HealthSpace Kingsford (9663 2151)
