Most of us live with chronic pain daily. We want to deal with it but we are so busy that we never find time.
So, we just take anti-inflammatory pain medication and move on with our day.
But this isn’t the healthiest choice for your body and it won’t solve the problem causing your pain.
Physical therapy exercises are probably what you need to solve the problem and become pain free, the benefits are amazing.
So, you can avoid taking medications and manage your pain using these 4 physical therapy exercises you can do anywhere – even at home and work.
First let’s talk about how PT exercises will relieve your pain, then we will go over the exercises.
How PT Exercises Help With Pain
Because physical therapy helps to manage and reduce pain, the need for medication (pain killers) over time is lessened.
Patients who work with physical therapists typically experience less pain or at least that is the goal.
Well, one goal, regaining mobility and having better functional use of their body if the other goal.
Generally speaking, physical therapy is a great pain management alternative to medicine.
That said, even with physical therapy, some conditions (both chronic and acute) may call for a variety of medications that are needed long term.
Here are some of the most common common painful conditions that physical therapy exercises can help with:
- Back pain
- Headaches
- Arthritis
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
- Neck Pain
- Dislocated joints
- Hand injuries
- Bone fractures
- Osteoporosis
- Sports injuries
- Pelvic pain
As you can see, physical therapy exercises can help reduce pain for many people’s conditions.
A lot of the pain we experience is due to our daily habitual movement patterns and sitting and standing postures. So, it is important to break these habits up with some PT exercises throughout the day.
So, let’s talk about 3 exercises that you can do at home and work to help relieve pain.
1. Foam Roller (Shoulder and Low Back Pain)
I actually take a foam roller to work. No shame. But for some folks, this will be a strictly at home exercise.
Laying on the ground on your back, on top of the foam roller, apply pressure evenly throughout your back and slowly roll across your muscles massaging the tissue as you go.
Mind your knees keeping them relaxed so that your low bain can receive the pressure from the foam roller, and relieve tension causing low back pain.
You can also stretch your arms out over your head and apply pressure to your upper back and shoulders to relieve neck and shoulder pain.
2. Exercise for Improved Sitting Posture
Next time you have been sitting too long at work, or home, try these steps to relieve pain and improve your posture.
This will help tremendously if you start to feel a headache or neck pain coming on.
- Sit, and have your feet flat on the ground with your back in good posture
- Maintain a neutral pelvis (This should be somewhere between slouching forward and a full chest puff with arching of your low back)
- Begin breathing, try to be aware of and feel your ribcage and sternum rise up while inhaling without letting your shoulders shrug. While exhaling, maintain a lifted sternum and let your shoulders naturally relax.
3. Eye Relief Exercises
Nowadays we stare are brightly lit screens for hours a day everyday. This is tough on our eyes causing strain and pain over time.
Try blinking more often to reduce strain on your eyes and relieve pain. Also, you can cup your palm over your closed eye, applying some pressure to your eye.
This will massage your eyeball and relieve some stress, tension, and pain caused from staring for long periods of time.
Feel Better
Take some time each day to do some of these exercises.
Incorporating just a few minutes of each throughout your day could drastically reduce your pain.
Feeling better from pain relief is going to make you happier, healthier, and better in everything that you do.
Crystal is a medical assistant who blogs at medical-assistant.us. When she isn’t busy running around with her kids, or giving someone shots, you can find her blogging about wellness, medicine, and healthcare.
