Achieving Ease of Movement When You Have Chronic Pain

First of all, what is chronic pain? Chronic pain is pain that last 3-6 months or longer. Recovering from chronic pain is very different that recovering from acute pain, which is new pain that is typically, but not always, associated with an injury or incident. Here are some of the key factors to consider when you are trying to get out of a chronic pain cycle.

1. Pain Education: Understanding how pain works in your body, brain and nervous system will help you to understand what is happening in your body. Pain does not necessarily mean you are causing damage to your tissues, which can be a hard concept to accept. When you begin a new exercise routine or activity, you will likely experience pain. The initial increase in pain is not damage. It is a warning signal from a sensitized nervous system, a response that has become automated but is not accurate or helpful. Increases in pain are always expected when you first start a new movement, activity or routine. The key is changing your beliefs about the pain, learning where to start, how much to do and acquiring some tools to regulate your overactive nervous system. These tools can help you take control and minimize or eliminate the pain you experience.
2. Safety: Start with movements that feel safe. Fear is a big factor when dealing with chronic pain, even if you aren’t aware of it. Practice asking yourself, “Is this safe?”, and consider modifying the movement if you don’t feel safe. This could mean having your hand on the wall for support, using a smaller range of motion, or performing the movement more slowly. It is important that you start with movements that you believe will not damage your body. This may be a very small movement or not very much activity to begin with, and that’s okay. Slow and steady wins the race, as they say.
3. How Much Is Enough: Continue the movement or activity as long as you feel you won’t regret it later. This can be difficult to determine, so start with a less is more approach and go from there. If you find that the consequences of the movement outweigh the benefits, and especially if there is a significant increase in pain after or during each movement, back off or stop. Take a breathing break. If it’s possible to stick to pain free ranges of motion, do so. If not, try to stick to minimally painful movements.
4. Breathe: Ensure you breathe calmly while you are moving or exercising. Relaxed breath or deep breath can calm you down and stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system which governs your rest and digest mode. Try taking a break between each movement or exercise as well, to breathe and relax. This can help to down regulate your sensitization.
5. Relaxation: Try to keep your muscle tone and tension as low as possible while you move. This might be hard. Remember that less is more and by being tense while you move you might be using too much effort to complete the movement.
6. Dividing Attention: If you are hypervigilant or pay a lot of attention to your pain during activities, try to divide your attention and focus on something else while you move. For example you’re your shoulder is the problem, focus on how your feet feel. If you tend to ignore your pain, try paying more attention to it.

At Remedy Wellness Centre, our massage therapists, acupuncturists, chiropractor and athletic therapist have completed educational courses through Pain BC and other continued education venues. By staying up to date on most recent research and treatment approaches for treating chronic pain, we can help you achieve balance and get back to doing the things you love. We also offer Registered Clinical Counselling with a unique focus on chronic pain treatment and management.
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If you are suffering with chronic pain, please come see us so we can get you started on a path to feeling better today.

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