Any amount of physical exercise may help boost pain tolerance, according to a recent research

Physical activity helps enhance pain tolerance

Walking for four hours a week improves dealing with headaches and back pain.

Fitness experts stress the importance of physical activity in relieving pain, which reduces dependence on analgesics in managing headaches and headaches. This is because exercise may have an effect on the same pathways-in the brain as pain relievers. Previous studies indicated that athletes have a higher ability to tolerate pain compared to others. Sports also reduces pain by maintaining joint flexibility.

Oslo - A recent study reported that walking for four hours per week can improve a person's ability to tolerate pain.

Researchers hope this means less need for painkillers to deal with everyday health problems such as headaches and backaches.

Researchers investigated more than 10,700 adults, who were asked to pick one of four categories for their typical physical activity in the last year. They can also choose the vigorous activity class if they train or compete in sports several times a week, or the moderate activity class if they participate in at least four hours of weekly hobbies such as tennis or gardening.

And if they walk, bike, or do similar exercise for at least four hours a week, they choose the light exercise category, and if they prefer to sit, they fall into the sedentary group.
Participants were asked to put their hands in as cold water
as they could handle to test their ability to tolerate pain.
Active people, in the 'active activity' category, could keep their hands in the water for 16 seconds longer than people in the sedentary group (6.7 seconds), while those who did moderate exercise could hold up to cold water for up to 14 seconds.
These results were identical even after the study authors-took into account other factors that could affect pain tolerance, such as age-or health conditions.

Exercise is known to reduce daily pain and tingling by maintaining-joint flexibility. But the results suggest that more fit people may feel any-pain they experience less intensely.
'Exercise may have an effect on the same circuits in the brain as opioids such as morphine, but to a considerably smaller amount,' said Anders Arnes of the University Hospital of Northern Norway. Our findings imply that frequent physical exercise, such as the runner's high we experience after running, might help enhance pain tolerance.

"Some studies show that people who are more active take analgesics less frequently, and we wonder whether these benefits of movement may make things like delivery less painful, however more study is needed to establish this. Previous studies indicated that athletes have a higher ability to tolerate pain compared to others.

The current study's authors, who published their findings in the journal PLACE ONE, conclude that "being active or continuing physical activity over time can benefit pain tolerance."

Exercise also helps relieve back pain While some believe that the back should be rested, activity helps relieve pain and protects against future injury, because the spine is designed for movement, bending and lifting, which maintains the strength and freshness of bones and soft tissues.

Regular exercise helps improve and restore strength, endurance and flexibility, and helps recover from an acute episode of low back pain. This is why maintaining physical activity is the best recommended way to control lower back pain.
Although physical activity is widely recommended for people with pain, researchers are still studying how it works and what dose is best for pain relief.
The traditional view focused on the effect of exercise on the structures surrounding the spine and increasing muscle tone in the spine and abdomen, but it did not fully explain why exercise relieved back pain.

There is growing evidence that exercise leads to beneficial changes in the functions of the nervous system, including the brain.
Experts explain how exercise affects people's feelings of pain by desensitizing them to potentially harmful stimuli, a phenomenon known as exercise-induced hypoalgesia.
One session of high-intensity aerobic activity, such as cycling or running for 15 minutes, can offer 30 minutes of pain alleviation in individuals who are not in pain, according to study.

Another major mechanism thought to be involved in the decrease in pain induced by exercise involves the formation of new and beneficial connections within the nervous system, in a process called neuroplasticity.

These structural changes in the nervous system act on slower timescales than the chemical changes that occur from exercise-induced hypoalgesia, but are thought to lead to a decrease in movement-related pain over time.
Regular exercise is also important for people with arthritis. Sport increases strength and flexibility, reduces joint pain, and is useful in overcoming fatigue. And if stiff and painful joints bother the trainee, the thought of walking around the house or swimming a few laps may seem exhausting to him.

Experts point out that the trainee in this case does not need to run like a marathon runner or swim at the speed of an Olympic competitor to reduce the symptoms of arthritis, as moderate exercises can relieve pain, and also help in maintaining a healthy weight.
Range-of-motion exercises relieve stiffness and increase the trainee's ability to move joints through a full range of motion.

Range-of-motion exercises involve moving the joints through their normal range
of motion, such as raising the arms over the head or thrusting the shoulders
back and forth. You can perform these workouts daily or every other day.

Some people feel that sports training causes joint discomfort and stiffness, however this is not the case. A lack of exercise can actually increase pain and stiffness in the joints
Maintaining the strength of the muscles and surrounding tissues is critical to providing support for the bones. Also, not doing sports training leads to weakening of the supporting muscles, which puts more stress on the joints.