Sports/training/workout with chronic pain?
Hi there,
I'm looking for advice! Can anyone recommend any sports, training or exercise for people with chronic back&neck pain?
So.. I have chronic back & neck pain, due to psychological reasons. I 'lock' all stress and anxiety in my body, to summarise ;) . Because of my pains I'm really out of shape, my stamina is bad and I feel my muscles are quite weak..
With a lot of therapy my pains are getting a little better, I'm not using pain killers everyday anymore and that's why I want to get back in shape! All my friends are going to the gym twice a week if not more, and I wish I could do the same. It's just that I cannot directly train my muscles like that, because they'll get stressed out and build up more tension. That's why I'm looking for alternatives that could help me.
I've tried yoga but find that many courses are too difficult and not being able to do everything makes me feel bad.. And doing it at home doesn't really work for me.
One thing I try to do weekly is swimming, which feels really good, as long as I don't do it too often or too long.
Oh and I cycle every day (I'm Dutch, what did you expect!) but that only has effect on my legs.
I'm happy to try anything and I'm curious to find out about your experiences!
A fair bit of it is finding what works for you.
With yoga, the type can matter. Yin and restorative tend to be a bit more geared towards people with injuries or pain. I really enjoyed pilates when I was recovering from health stuff and not really sick, although it can be easy to do incorrectly with some tightness so a few private classes may be the best way to start with that so you're getting focused attention.
Being flexible also helps, I find seniors classes aren't always limited to seniors, they are open to others if they have concerns. Since you're enjoying swimming there may be some water aerobics or other types of classes you could do as well?
Oh, have you also ever used a foam roller? If you try it, going really gentle at first tends to be best and getting some guidance initially is helpful. I do find it can be really good to release some tightness, even if I just lay on it for a bit and not really do anything where I'm doing any movement or force other than my body weight.