Exercise can help people with chronic pain return to daily activities with ease and comfort, writes Dr. Christopher Sahler, interventional pain management specialist at ONS in this week’s issue of the Greenwich Sentinel.  Slowing down is wise advice if pain is caused by an injury, he said, but a growing body of research suggests people suffering from chronic pain may feel better if they keep moving.

Not only does inactivity lead to a myriad of problems from weight gain to depression, it can actually exacerbate a person’s perception of pain.  Moderate, adaptive exercise, he explains, helps alleviate unrelenting pain because it releases endorphins, brain chemicals that improve mood and act as natural painkillers. Exercise provides the additional benefits of increasing a person’s agility and range of motion and it can stregnthen muscles to prevent injury.  Read the entire article which includes tips for gradually returning to normal, daily activities with greater ease and comfort.