Wouldn't you be in agony if you were already in pain and someone asked you to exercise instead of taking some rest? Staying still at times of pain can give you relief in the short run, but when you increase mobility at painful moments, you can definitely recover faster. 

What Gym Exercises Can I Do For Pain Management? 

Indeed, medications are important to relieve chronic pain, but physical exercise is equally important to manage your pain for a long period.

To get maximum benefits, you can take up home gym tips at the same time, you are advised to choose exercises of moderate and vigorous intensity. Here, intensity is the amount of metabolic energy required to do an exercise. Simply stated, it's about how tired and sweaty you get when you exercise. While some might have high endurance capacity and may be able to do vigorous exercises, some may lack the capability to exercise even at moderate intensity, so they are focused on light mobility only. You can try these exercises of varying intensities to manage your discomfort and re-energize your system. 

• Moderate Intensity 

When exercising at moderate intensity, you will sweat after 10 minutes of workout with a fast heartbeat, no matter what the exercise is. Some of the outdoor activities with moderate intensities are:

• Brisk walking

• Lawn mowing

• Cycling

• Playing badminton and doubles tennis

• Slow swimming

• Yoga

• Moderate dancing

• Painting 

• Gardening 

For an adult, 150 minutes of moderate exercise is recommended, with a two-day routine to devote to strength-building exercises. If you want to stay home and perform moderate-intensity exercise, you can create your own gym space within a budget. 

• Vigorous Intensity 

If you are engaged in vigorous physical exercise, then your breathing is so heavy and fast that you are unable to utter more than a few words and instantly sweat a lot after engaging in the exercise. Some activities with vigorous intensities are as follows.

• Skipping and martial arts

• Jogging and running

• Heavy Weightlifting in the gym 

• Using Sled Push

• Resistance training

• Fast cycling on a hill

• Fast swimming

• Playing soccer and singles tennis

In the case of vigorous exercise, you have to devote at least 75 minutes and an additional 2-3 days to strength-building exercises to get maximum health benefits. Instead of just choosing exercises of either moderate or vigorous intensity, you can exercise by combining exercises of both intensities depending on the pain that you are experiencing. Whatsoever combination you choose, you can start and stay on your fitness goal. 

What To Expect In a Doctor's Visit? 

But beware when you do any of these exercises as high intensity may not be suitable to manage all types of pain. For instance, if you have arthritis, you should not run errands even though you love to do so, as running will create more tears in the joint area. Likewise, if you suffer from back pain and love to play tennis, you can't go for these exercises as they may create imbalances due to strain. 

Before diving into any exercises, you must consult your doctor and start medication and physical activities as per their prescription. When you visit your doctor, you need to answer these questions accurately in order to practice relevant exercises to manage your pain effectively. 

• Since when are you suffering from this pain?

• Can you spot the exact pain area?

• Did you experience sudden pain?

• Is the pain dull or sharp?

• Does the pain come and go 

• Is there redness or swelling in the affected area?

• What activities make the pain worse?

• Did you have similar pain in the past? 

Answer these questions correctly when you visit your doctor. Your answers will shape the further proceedings, and the doctor will accordingly prescribe medicines and an exercise routine for better management. 

How Does Exercise Help You in Pain Management?

Every single organ in your body, from skin to your brain, functions when you exercise. While your brain consumes a lot of energy to produce serotonin and dopamine, the heart is at a race with increased blood flow. The lungs then are busy soaking in oxygen, and millions of sweat glands on your skin produce as much sweat and toxins as they can. And if you opt for heavy lifting, your bone density gets thicker, and muscles are stronger from running or brisk walking. Explore some chronic pain and exercises to manage them well.

• Mental health

If you are depressed and have anxiety or mental health issues, thinking about exercising can be more stressful. But there are some physical activities like water therapy, aerobics, meditation, and yoga that can inhibit the release of stress hormones like cortisol. Instead, exercise produces endorphins, leading to the development of positive emotions, thus giving you prolonged relief. 

• Osteoporosis

If you have osteoporosis, you have reduced bone strength, thus inducing pain in your body. In these cases, you could add physical activities like strength training and balance exercises to your daily routine for better pain management. Heavy Weightlifting and resistance bands help you strengthen muscle mass, thus supporting your spine for proper balance. Additionally, stretching and balance exercises like yoga, tai chi, standing on one foot, and walking backwards can be effective in improving your body's balance, thus reducing the risk of accidents, which ultimately prevents fractures. 

• Shoulder Pain

If you experience pain around your shoulders and don't want to take medicines, then with a doctor's consultation, you can practice exercises like arm swings in all directions, arm circles, shoulder flex, side rotation with weight, and towel exercises. These exercises will not only reduce pain but also will strengthen your shoulder muscles. But even after six weeks of exercising, if your pain does not reduce, you must revisit your doctor and take the necessary steps.

• Arthritis

With hurting joints, exercising may be dreadful for you. But exercise has a lot of benefits awaiting you to heal your joints gradually with a consistent daily routine in your schedule. You can go for water exercises with an instructor as it feels good. Your increased weight could be the reason for painful joints, so with aerobics, including exercises like walking, swimming, and cycling, you will not only increase your heartbeat but also control weight, ultimately managing your pain in the long run. 

When to Stop While Exercising?

Exercising has a lot of benefits like enhanced tolerance to pain, reduced inflammation, and stronger and more flexible muscles, which leads to an increase in energy level with improved mood and well-being. 

But while exercising, instead of a gradual decrease in pain, ultimately scoring the pain to a minimal amount, if you experience an increased pain, then stop right there. Instead, tweak your exercise movements and decrease the speed of exercising until your pain reduces. You can also have an ample gap between two exercising sessions and also reduce its frequency. Likewise, you need to properly warm up with light exercises in the beginning before diving into vigorous ones. 

Incorporating exercise into your immobile routine can cause pain in the initial days. But if pain is severe even after multiple exercising sessions, seek medical assistance immediately, as those exercises may not be suitable for curing your pain.