Summary: Participating in high-level physical activity, such as swimming or tennis, once a week helps prevent chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Fountain: University of Portsmouth
Those hoping to stave off one of the worst side effects of aging—bone, joint, and muscle pain that won’t go away—may need to exercise much harder and more often than previously believed.
According to a new study, only high levels of activity at least once a week — playing tennis, running, swimming, digging with a shovel, or doing hard physical labor as part of your job — seem to help prevent chronic musculoskeletal pain in the long term.
The study, led by Dr. Nils Niederstrasser of the University of Portsmouth, examined data from 5,802 people aged 50 and over for ten years.
Nearly half, just over 2,400, reported suffering from musculoskeletal pain at the end of the 10-year period.
Dr. Niederstrasser says that “chronic pain is a big problem at any age and one of the main causes of people calling in sick at work or going to the emergency room. It is one of the most widespread and complex problems in the medical community and leads, for many who suffer from it, to a poorer quality of life and poor well-being.”
“It’s well known that pain tends to be more common as we age, so it’s vital that we look at what might help prevent and reduce it.”
“The lack of longitudinal studies among older adults on risk factors for chronic pain is alarming.”
“For many complex reasons, the solution to the problem of chronic pain in the elderly has proven elusive.”
The study is the first to examine the experience of chronic pain along with gender, BMI, age and wealth over a long period of time.
Report co-author Dr. Nina Attridge, also of the University of Portsmouth, said that all activity helped reduce the chance of pain, but over time, only high levels of physical activity seemed to reduce the risk of someone develop musculoskeletal pain.
He said that being poor, being female, and being overweight or obese were independent risk factors for musculoskeletal pain.
She hopes the findings will encourage those designing programs to help people avoid chronic pain to include regular vigorous physical activity, weight loss programs and finding ways to help people with lower incomes.
For the study, moderate exercise included activities such as dancing, walking, stretching and gardening.
Light activity included activities such as laundry, vacuuming, and DIY.
Dr. Niederstrasser says, “Such activity, any activity, helps people stay well and feel better than no exercise, but mild exercise doesn’t seem to have a long-term effect on the development of chronic pain.”
“The activity should not only be vigorous, but should be done at least once a week.”
“A person who rides a bike, for example, once a month and whose only other activity is light housework would still be classified as sedentary.”
See also
The study found that persistent pain was more common in women, possibly due to hormonal differences; in those who were obese or overweight, probably because the extra weight puts a load on the body’s joints; and in those who were less wealthy, possibly because higher disposable income may enable them to seek additional care, beyond that covered by insurance or national health services, to treat ailments and injuries.
About this news on exercise and pain research
Author: press office
Fountain: University of Portsmouth
Contact: Press Office – University of Portsmouth
Image: The image is in the public domain.
original research: Open access.
“Associations between pain and physical activity in older adults” by Nils Georg Niederstrasser et al. plus one
Abstract
Associations between pain and physical activity in older adults
goals
Chronic pain is a significant societal problem and pain complaints are a leading cause of work absenteeism and emergency room visits. Physical activity has been associated with a reduced risk of musculoskeletal pain complaints, but the exact relationship in a sample of older adults is unknown.
Methods
Participants self-reported their level of physical activity and whether they often worried about bone, joint, or muscle pain. Logistic regression analyzes revealed the nature of the relationship between musculoskeletal pain and physical activity cross-sectionally and longitudinally over the course of 10 years. The data was taken from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which consists of 5,802 people residing in England aged 50 and over.
Results
Only high levels of physical activity were associated with a reduced risk of musculoskeletal pain compared with a sedentary lifestyle longitudinally. In addition, having low wealth, being female, and being overweight or obese were found to be risk factors for musculoskeletal pain.
Conclusions
The development of interventions aimed at alleviating and preventing musculoskeletal pain complaints could benefit from incorporating physical activity programs, weight loss, and aspects that address wealth inequality to maximize their effectiveness.
