Movement Is Life; And Less Pain.

Our brains are truly fascinating! The whole concept of feeling pain; nerve fibers transmitting pain signals to your brain that are being delivered via the central nervous system, is complex and cool! Unfortunately when the pain receptors become hypersensitized, pain can become persistent and interfere with your everyday life. Here is where movement comes into play. Because movement fibers are bigger and faster, movement messages will actually reach the brain faster than pain messages do! Over time activating these movement receptors will decrease that hypersensitivity. If that's not a reason to move I don't know what is!

The person who introduced me to this concept was my rheumatologist. When I was pretty much bedridden, about 4 years ago, he was the one that encouraged me to start moving slowly and consistently. Constance Lethbridge took it one step further by creating individualized exercise plans overseen by a kineosiologist and tailored to our personal needs. Never in my life would I have believed that moving my body would be the key to hurting less. It defies all logic... atlteast in my head!

When I had to fill out my intake forms for the chronic pain self-management program I had to share my beliefs around movement. There's this scale called 'The Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia' which measures how debilitating a person's fear of movement is and it's used to gauge how much you believe movement will actually result in injury/pain. Kinesiophobia dumbed down is the fear of movement. I scored really high. Looking back at this now it doesn't surprise me but prior to filling out that questionnaire, I didn't even know that a phobia of moving existed! I really truly believed that I was justififed in my belief that if I moved I would definitely cause myself more pain.

Retraining my brain started with the pandemic actually. After months in lockdown my family of five had NEVER spent so much time together! We never saw anyone or went anywhere. My kids were all getting older and one night after a particularly taxing day the hubby suggested we go for a walk to clear our minds. This started our walking routine and not a day has passed that I don't walk. When I joined the pain management program they made a resistance exercise and stretching program for me which further solidified those powerful movement messages!

Sometimes people bristle when they hear the word exercise and I get it. Believe me I get it! Exercise doesn't have to be a bustling gym with blaring music (although it can be). I think of exercise as whatever gets you up and moving. That definition isn't completely accurate though because it discounts exercise in a wheelchair or chair where you don't actually 'get up'. So maybe just simply put exercise is movement. Personally I love walking and I'm fortunate that I can do it. Swimming is great. Take a dance class or ride a bicycle. Moving doesn't always have to mean one particular thing and you can change how you move frequently. One day you can take a bike ride and the next day a stroll in your neighbourhood. On the weekend you can play a game of catch with your kids. Exercise comes in many forms but the important thing is just to keep moving your body. Below are some examples of exercise that you can look into:

- walking (I prefer nature walks but I live in the city so walks around my neighbourhood are my usual go-to)

- nordic walking (walking while using poles so you engage the upper body too)

- yoga (I've been told that both yin or gentle yoga are the best options - check out Yoga With Adriene on Youtube for lots of videos, here's a link to a yin yoga video to try.)

- tai chi (you can check out beginnger tai chi videos on Youtube or join a local tai chi center)

- chair yoga (yoga moves seated in a chair or using the chair as a prop to aid in standing yoga)

- strength training (I think getting a professional who intimately knows chronic pain is important when setting up a progam.)

- swimming, (particularly in warm water) or some form of water aerobics/exercise

- stretching (stretching can be done anywhere - check out this desk yoga stretching video courtesy of Yoga With Adriene again.

- cycling (stationary or outside depending on the time of year and climate.)

- dancing (around your living room or take a fun class, here's a seated belly dance video I discovered on Youtube.)

Of course always check with your doctor to make sure you don't have any conditions that would prevent you from doing these activities safely. Just remember that when you start to move your body you're going to feel some pain and soreness and it's completely normal! Your brain will eventually learn that there's no danger in moving regularly if using good techniques and slow but steady progress.