How exercise may help to improve pain

Published August 4, 2022

Physical activity is important for your wellbeing and is central to daily life. Your day-to-day activities require the use of your muscles, such as:

• Bending down to pick up bags
• Twisting around in your chair, or
• Pushing a shopping trolley.

But performing even these simple tasks can lead to physical injury if you are out of shape.¹ Did you know exercise can help you prevent pain from injuries related to everyday activities? Exercise can also help ease muscular tension when you are in pain.

Exercise to reduce pain

Certain types of pain are associated with specific muscle groups, so think about paying special attention to those areas. For example, tension headaches can be caused by tension in neck and scalp muscles.² So, you may feel relief by stretching and strengthening these muscles.

Similarly, strengthening abdominal and back muscles can protect the spine to help avoid back pain.³ Yoga training incorporates controlled breathing and relaxation with physical poses that can improve strength in specific groups of muscles. Pilates is also a great way to strengthen core stabilising muscles and take the pressure off your lower back. Creating a strong and flexible core will improve your balance and stability, helping prevent falling, or injuring yourself during activities.³

Moderate exercise immediately before or during a menstrual period may help reduce period pain,⁴ as it causes the body to release endorphins. Also, a healthy lifestyle in general, incorporating physical activity, can affect the likelihood of experiencing period pain.⁵

Always check with your healthcare professional or physiotherapists if the above mentioned modalities are correct for you.

Exercise safety

It is important to consider your condition and pain state when performing any exercise. For instance, if you are in a flare-up of back pain, an exercise like sit-ups, which strengthen the core, will only make the pain worse. Forcing an injured muscle to work may also damage soft tissue and slow down healing, so check with a healthcare professional that you are clear to proceed.

Reduce the risk of injuring yourself during exercise by:⁶

• Speaking to a health professional before starting a new exercise program, particularly if you haven’t exercised in some time.
• Using the proper equipment and the right shoes
• Staying hydrated
• Warming up before you begin, and
• Stretching out muscles.

Do not push through exercises that cause you pain or discomfort; try modifying them instead or else avoid them altogether. Also, give your body adequate time to recover.

Exercise to reduce weight and pain

Research has shown that overweight people are more likely to suffer from pain.⁷ If you are overweight or obese, you can help to prevent possible weight-related pain in your future by reducing your weight.

Extra weight can increase the load on your joints, muscles and bones, and this pressure can cause pain in your knees, hips and back.⁶ Weight around your middle can increase tension on your back by pulling the pelvis forward, and this can result in lower back pain.⁶

Extra weight also increases the risk of injury during activity, as the chances of falls, trips and stumbles rise with obesity. Each unit increase in body mass index (BMI) will increase the risk of injury due to exercise by 6–10%.⁸ However, this does not mean you should not exercise if you are overweight. On the contrary, a moderate-intensity exercise program, like walking 150–300 minutes per week, will enhance long-term weight loss maintenance and poses no greater risk of injury compared to dietary intervention without set exercise goals.⁸

Talk to your healthcare professional about what you can do to maintain a healthy weight. Every person is unique, and what you need may be different from someone else. Focus on maintaining a healthy diet that is balanced and full of nutrients and keeping active.

For short term pain relief, learn if Mersynofen is appropriate for you.

ALWAYS READ THE LABEL AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE. INCORRECT USE COULD BE HARMFUL. ASK YOUR PHARMACIST ABOUT THIS PRODUCT.

MAT-AU-2402240 – 1.0 – November 2024

Learn whether Mersynofen may be appropriate for you.

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