Chronic pain refers to pain that extends beyond the expected healing time and includes conditions such as spinal pain, post-operative pain, neuropathic pain and shoulder and knee pain. In Australia, 1 in 5 individuals are affected by chronic pain to the point that pain significantly impacts their daily life.
AEP’s Physiotherapists and Exercise Physiologists work with you to help reduce your pain. They will help you to develop effective coping strategies to better manage your symptoms, while also strengthening and conditioning your body to better cope with activities of daily living.
A common misconception about chronic pain is that activity should be avoided, however, the correct type of movement can help to improve your chronic pain. This is where the saying “motion is lotion” comes from. Some benefits of exercise include:
- Moving joints remain lubricated and glide easier
- To be healthy and receive nutrients, some structures such as the nerves and discs of the spine need movement
- Less fatigue with stronger muscles
- The nervous system promotes relaxation by “winding down”
- Reduced flare-ups and inflammation
- Improves mood and helps with anxiety and depression
- Most importantly, your body produces its own pain relieving medication (e.g. endorphins) that works like the pain medication doctors prescribe
- After a bout of exercise pain tolerance is increased, things hurt less, and can last for up to an hour depending on the exercise