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4 Simple Ways Women Can Manage Chronic Pain, From A Physical Therapist
Chronic pain is, well, a pain—and one that disproportionately affects women, at that. It’s estimated that over 50 million people deal with chronic pain in the United States every year, and over half of those cases1 are women.
Not only that, but over 23 million people in the States have an autoimmune condition, with a whopping 80% being women2, further contributing to the chronic pain problem. (Think rheumatoid arthritis, polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, endometriosis, fibromyalgia…the list goes on.)
So, to get the lowdown on the best workouts for chronic pain, we asked physical therapist and author of Science of Stretch, Leada Malek DPT, for her take. Here’s what she recommends.
Aerobic exercises like walking & swimming
Sometimes, the best workout is just going back to basics and taking a nice brisk walk. According to Malek, vigorous aerobic exercise can be especially beneficial if you’re dealing with PCOS or fibromyalgia.
In fact, one recent study3 published in the journal Healthcare found that performing aerobic exercise at a low-to-moderate intensity of 50–60% of the maximum heart rate has an analgesic (AKA pain relieving) effect on chronic pain.
In the case of PCOS, which can result in impaired glucose tolerance4, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, aerobics help with these risks as well. Malek tells mindbodygreen that vigorous aerobic exercise, resistance training, and yoga “have all been found to be promising with insulin sensitivity and androgen levels, with aerobic exercise having the strongest evidence.”
And the nice thing about aerobic exercise, of course, is it can look like walking, running, cycling, rowing, or swimming. If you’re wondering exactly how much you should be doing, Malek adds that you should aim for at least three days per week for 30 min or more.
“Pick your favorite trail or route and walk at a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes, or add an incline to increase intensity,” Malek suggests.
Mind-body exercises like yoga
On those days when you’re just not up for lifting weights or going for a run, gentle, mind-body exercises are a great option to lean on. And according to Malek, they might even help you with chronic pain symptoms.
As she tells mindbodygreen, things like yoga, Tai Chi, or QiGong are excellent for chronic pain, especially related to PCOS, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalgia. “Mind-body exercises are exercises that focus on controlled breathing, mental focus, and movement,” Malek adds.
Based on what the research says, it appears that these mind-body exercises may help lower inflammatory markers—which, of course, contribute to pain.
One study5 including people with rheumatoid arthritis even found that after just eight weeks of yoga, there was a “significant decrease in the severity of RA,” as seen through reductions in levels of various inflammatory markers. But this study (and others) show these exercises work best when paired with other treatments6—including medication.
Resistance training
Resistance training is a great way to keep your muscles strong, which in turn helps support your joints.
It might seem counterintuitive to bear weight if you’re dealing with pain, but research7 shows that strong muscles can actually help reduce the amount of stress on cartilage, which in turn helps to protect joints.“Activities that maintain flexibility, muscle strength, and coordination protect the cartilaginous surfaces and help to maintain joint function in joints that have already been injured and in which arthritic changes have developed or are developing,” the study authors write.
And as aforementioned by Malek, resistance training (i.e. calisthenic exercises like squats, or weight lifting) may be especially helpful for those with managing chronic pain from PCOS.
Plus, resistance exercises increase bone mass and density, helping to protect against osteoporosis8 (a disease that causes bones to become fragile and more likely to break), which just happens to disproportionately affect women, too.
Of course, the great thing about resistance training is you don’t always need equipment. Moves like planks, lunges, or burpees just require you and your body—no gym necessary.
Here’s our introductory guide to strength training to help you get started.
Mobility drills
Any time we’re talking about chronic pain, mobility has to be a part of the conversation—and by that, we mean being able to move your joints through their full range of motion with ease.
So, Malek tells mindbodygreen that working mobility drills into your routine is a great idea.
Everyone—but especially if you have endometriosis—can benefit from breathing exercises in addition to hip mobility and pelvic floor exercises. “[They] may be a good option to reduce pain and tension, [and] heating pads and warm baths may also be of use,” Malek adds on the topic of endometriosis.
Malek recommends simple stretches like child’s pose, adductor rock backs, frogger, figure-4 stretch, and happy baby. Want more recs? Here are my favorite yoga poses for hip mobility.
The takeaway
Even if you don’t have any of the conditions listed here, all of us benefit from a well-rounded movement routine. As Malek notes, any exercise is better than no exercise at all.
From fibromyalgia, to RA, to your everyday pains from aging, it is possible to get relief. Malek suggests starting with a combined program of 15-20 minutes of aerobic exercise plus 15-20 min of resistance training, at least three times per week.
In the grand scheme of things, that’s a small time commitment with a big return on investment. And remember, Malek adds, “Movement is a powerful pain management tool; The trick is understanding what intensity, volume, and type work best for your body and allow you to stay consistent for the long term.”
8 Sources
- https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7215a1.htm
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0896841109000481?via%3Dihub
- https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/12/2/242
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1440244024002081
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30714983/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0197457223002859
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6220608/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6279907/
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