How Can I Walk If I Have Pain
We now move into the beautiful part of the year when life is around us everywhere. The trees have pushed out their leaves, and there is blossom in the air. So that is why now is the ideal time to get out with family and friends and do some walking.
How can I walk if I have pain both with more acute episodes of pain and with chronic pain, I hear you ask?
The body reacts to strain or infection by causing inflammation. It is often this inflammation that means movement is a real problem. However, movement is also part of the adaptive processes that help the body to reduce inflammation by muscular action by moving fluids. However, in the acute phase of injury, “rest but move” advice is advisable. Ice the area (5 min on 10 off three times) to reduce inflammation and move as much as is comfortable, making sure you move in the maximum every 10 minutes. It may possibly take as long as two days for the inflammation to reach its peak in the early part of an injury (depending on the tissue type). If it is low back pain, do not lay on the floor (getting up and down may be impossible), and avoid hot baths (heat can worsen inflammation, and in some instances, muscle tension can be protective in nature, so if you allow the muscle to release in a hot bath this can be a problem and you may get in but getting out you may be stuck).
It is important to move, and once this phase of inflammation is passed, healing can start to occur, so start to move more, potter around initially, and take small periods of rest if that feels right. The pain may still be there, but even though you may feel it with some movements, try to avoid those but move in those that are comfortable.
With chronic pain, the biggest problem is boom and bust. On better days, you tend to do much more than normal and then feel much more pain which makes you do less, so the boom and bust cycles get bigger and bigger. So try and understand what is a typical day. Step counters or using your mobile phone to monitor how many steps you take in a typical day is a start. Then only do a maximum of 10% more on a good day or over the next 5 to 7 days, then increase again by 10% of the new figure. Carry on doing this, and over a longer period of time, you will find you will be able to do more with less pain comfortably. So like the spring, there is always room for growth and rebirth.
Thank you for read our article on “How Can I Walk If I Have Pain” we hope you enjoyed it.
Please feel free to contact a member of our team for more advise. You can also keep up to date with us via our Facebook page.
How Can I Walk If I Have Pain
We now move into the beautiful part of the year when life is around us everywhere. The trees have pushed out their leaves, and there is blossom in the air. So that is why now is the ideal time to get out with family and friends and do some walking.
How can I walk if I have pain both with more acute episodes of pain and with chronic pain, I hear you ask?
The body reacts to strain or infection by causing inflammation. It is often this inflammation that means movement is a real problem. However, movement is also part of the adaptive processes that help the body to reduce inflammation by muscular action by moving fluids. However, in the acute phase of injury, “rest but move” advice is advisable. Ice the area (5 min on 10 off three times) to reduce inflammation and move as much as is comfortable, making sure you move in the maximum every 10 minutes. It may possibly take as long as two days for the inflammation to reach its peak in the early part of an injury (depending on the tissue type). If it is low back pain, do not lay on the floor (getting up and down may be impossible), and avoid hot baths (heat can worsen inflammation, and in some instances, muscle tension can be protective in nature, so if you allow the muscle to release in a hot bath this can be a problem and you may get in but getting out you may be stuck).
It is important to move, and once this phase of inflammation is passed, healing can start to occur, so start to move more, potter around initially, and take small periods of rest if that feels right. The pain may still be there, but even though you may feel it with some movements, try to avoid those but move in those that are comfortable.
With chronic pain, the biggest problem is boom and bust. On better days, you tend to do much more than normal and then feel much more pain which makes you do less, so the boom and bust cycles get bigger and bigger. So try and understand what is a typical day. Step counters or using your mobile phone to monitor how many steps you take in a typical day is a start. Then only do a maximum of 10% more on a good day or over the next 5 to 7 days, then increase again by 10% of the new figure. Carry on doing this, and over a longer period of time, you will find you will be able to do more with less pain comfortably. So like the spring, there is always room for growth and rebirth.
Thank you for read our article on “How Can I Walk If I Have Pain” we hope you enjoyed it.
Please feel free to contact a member of our team for more advise. You can also keep up to date with us via our Facebook page.
