The First Defense Line Against Chronic Pain

Physical activity (PA) is important for human health (Dobson et al., 2014; Ho et al., 2016) and its absence raises the risk for illness and chronic pain (CP) (Rabbitts et al., 2014; Sluka et al., 2013). Therefore, it is necessary to implement an active and healthy way of living through daily PA (Ho et al., 2016; Rabbitts et al., 2014). Although pain itself is a defense mechanism, CP is futile and has no practical use. CP is one of the most common health problems and it affects the quality of life (QOL) of about 20% of the general population (Dobson et al., 2014; Sluka et al., 2013; Treede et al., 2015; Zdziarski et al., 2015).

A new classification of CP by its origins was published in the ICD-11 (June 2018). This new classification makes it easier to outline specific ways to treat CP (Treede et al., 2015).

It is known for some time that PA is an effective pain reducer (Sluka et al., 2013) by activating mechanisms like the release of opioids, endorphins and Neurotrophin-3 (Daenen et al., 2015; Dobson et al., 2014) and boosting HSP72 protein that is involved in reducing the sensation of pain (Daenen et al., 2015; Dobson et al., 2014).

PA avoidance because of CP, lack of persistence or other encumbrances hinders persistence in PA and makes it more difficult to use it as an effective treatment (Ho et al., 2016; Kakushi et al., 2008; Rabbitts et al., 2014; Zdziarski et al., 2015).

In most cases of CP, it is found that aerobic exercise (AE) is the most beneficial (Daenen et al., 2015; Juhl et al., 2014; Rabbitts et al., 2014; Sertel et al., 2017; Zdziarski et al., 2015). However, it`s better to start with resistance exercise (RE) to improve joint stability and reduce the chance of inducing pain (Zdziarski et al., 2015). The best method is to combine AE with RE (Searle et al., 2015; Zdziarski et al., 2015).

Other forms of exercise, like Chikunga, Yoga, Flexibility and Aquatic-Therapy, were found beneficial for CP reduction (Matsumoto et al., 2011; Sherman et al., 2005; Southerst et al., 2016; Zdziarski et al., 2015). Even though heat treatment in a dray sauna is not traditional PA it was also found beneficial for pain reduction (Matsumoto et al., 2011; Matsushita et al., 2008; Kakushi et al., 2008).