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10 Evidence Based Reasons Why You & Your Patients Should Exercise

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Exercise is great, we know this, right?

Well, sort of.

Many people know exercise is good for us on a general level, but the question is, do they know it’s right for them on an individual level and is it the right fix for their problem?

This is an entirely different proposition, applying that general information to the person. This idea that these things are good for us can be quite vague, one of those things we may have glanced over in a newspaper or half-hearted on the news whilst eating our corn flakes.

People also build up ideas about what is the correct treatment for them. This can be from their own in-depth research on the internet (right!), what they have picked up from friends and family or from previous treatment with a therapist. This can lead to some pretty strong ideas about what should and perhaps should not be done to help them.

These beliefs don’t always align with the best available data we have about interventions. A prime example of this is the belief that exercise risks outweigh the benefits with back pain (55% of folk in New Zealand). This stat was taken from this Darlow paper in 2016 HERE. 

We know that exercise can be effective with back pain, certainly not a magic bullet, but one of the best things we have at our disposable within a comprehensive treatment plan, especially as it is low cost and low risk too.

Beliefs And Expectations

Our beliefs drive our expectations and actions. Predicted expectations are gaining weight as a prognostic factor in recovery over the past decade. They may influence my participation and behaviour in a treatment plan that will ultimately affect the outcome.  If I don’t believe in something I am much less likely to do it.

How can we combat this? Well, in my opinion, the best tool we have is good quality information we can use to combat the beliefs that may hold people back. A key to start affecting beliefs, again, in my opinion, is not to challenge too firmly, but inform people using well-evidenced information. One of my favourite one-liners is “That’s what we used to think but we are learning new things all the time, the latest research suggests…”

Here are some small tidbits of information that we can use to start informing our patients and clients about the role of exercise in pain AND health, which of course ultimately affects pain too!

Remember that giving people information is really designed to change behaviour rather than just show how smart you are so monitoring what happens is pretty important.

1. Exercise Is One Of The Best Evidence-Based Interventions We Have For MSK Pain

This paper HERE from 2017 in PLOS one shows moderate to strong effectiveness of exercise as an intervention for many MSK issues. This is in contrast to the belief that things need to be zapped, needled or popped back into place.

My therapist only gave me some exercises. Yep. Because they followed the evidence!

2. Exercise Won’t Make Your Body Worse

So many people see the body as a bit of machinery. The more it works the more the parts need replacing. Is this true? Absolutely NOT. The body is an organic organism that adapts both positively and negatively to stimulus. The more active we are (within reason) the stronger we become. The less active, well…

A classic common belief is that our intervertebral discs wear out the more we use them. This classic study from Battie HERE (2009) looked at twins to determine the major contributors to disc degeneration. They suggest that the “commonly held view that disc degeneration is primarily a result of ageing and ‘wear and tear’ from mechanical insults and injuries, was not supported by this series of studies”.

This study HERE from 2017 found that if you have a rotator cuff tear, the tear getting worse did not appear to be simply related to activity levels. In fact, they suggest pain development is actually associated with LOWER activity levels. If I had a pound for every time it has been suggested to me that running damages the knees then I would be a rich man. A study of marathon runners HERE showed that they had LESS meniscal abnormalities than non-runners.

3. Exercise Might Actually Make The Discs In Your Back Healthier!

Two recent studies have shown a POSITIVE effect of activity on intervertebral discs. Firstly this study HERE from 2017 showed that MORE vigorous activity was associated with BETTER disc health on MRI. Secondly, in this paper from 2016 HERE. Runners were shown to have intervertebral discs that had increase hypertrophy compared to the non-athletic group. The authors suggest that running actually strengthens the discs, whether we can infer a causal relationship here is unclear but this goes against activity causing wear and tear which is a common belief.

4. Activity Is A Pain Killer

This study HERE showed that older adults who were MORE active also had better endogenous pain inhibitory mechanisms when their conditioned pain modulation (CPM) was tested. Simply put, this means the more active the better their natural pain-killing mechanisms were. Which of course is super cool.

5. Exercise Is An Anti Inflammatory

This study HERE showed that regular physical activity caused an increase in interleukin -10 which is an anti-inflammatory cytokine that can reduce nociceptor sensitisation.

Now the caveat here is this study was performed in an animal population but as we know that there are associations between inactivity and both acute and chronic pain in humans it is a linked that potentially needs to be better explored.

6. Lack Of Exercise Is Associated With Chronic Pain

This large study HERE looked at the relationship between recreational exercise and chronic pain. Both older and younger folk were studied and the researchers found that for both groups exercise participation was associated with reduced chronic pain. A relationship was also present for the frequency, duration and intensity of that exercise.

7. Lack Of Exercise As A Major Cause Of Chronic Diseases

This comprehensive paper HERE makes a case for a lack of exercise being a primary prevention against 35 chronic conditions suffered by us poor humans. This goes beyond what most of us involved in the musculoskeletal field would have to deal with but also shows the importance of exercise for systemic health too.

8. It’s Involved In Mental Health As Well

We are understanding more and more that the mind and the body cannot really be separated. Physical health and mental health are interlinked in the human being and guess what…..exercise plays a role in improving mental health too. This paper HERE explores the mechanisms that may relate to mental health and exercise.

This randomised control trial looked at aerobic exercise and a variety of measures of psychological health HERE. The authors found significant group differences that favoured the exercise group.

9. You Want To Live Longer Right?

Strength training in this paper HERE was found to have a significant association with decreased mortality in adults over 65. But only a minority of this age group actually meet the current guidelines.

10. Have A Healthier Heart

This prospective study of 15 years duration HERE found that physical activity was a predictor of cardiovascular disease.

Summing Up

There are a whole bunch of others studies that relate to these topics but I just picked a few. I think it demonstrates that physical activity and exercise have an effect on us on a number of different levels, from the heart to the head to pain as well.

  • Do it
  • Do it
  • Do it
  • Do it

Articles Of The Week July 29, 2018

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We have preached about these kind of things many times, but it’s great to see bigger organizations like the AMTA spreading the word as well. Let’s get rid of these many myths in our profession and start sharing quality information with our patients. 

“Myths Vs. Truths In The Massage Therapy Profession” – Renee Zagozdan

This is just a simple quick video, but it’s an important message that NEEDS to be shared. So many practitioners are still using language like “slipped disc” when talking to patients about pain. Well, that needs to stop.

“You Can’t Slip A Disc” – Lorimer Moseley

We quite often promote looking at research, making sure it’s good research, and making sure it’s up to date. But, as pointed out in this article, there’s still lots we can learn from older research that can still be applied and used within our practice.

“Learning From Old Research, (Digging Into History)” – Bronnie Lennox Thompson

This is a great post that outlines 50 quotes on pain from Louis Gifford. They are well worth the read, and many of them you could use to help explain some things to your patients.

“Louis Gifford And His Legacy” – Lars Avemarie

Quite often we hold on to old theories because we believed they worked, and have had some success with them in practice. However, sometimes those things need to be challenged, and in this post the rotation of the sacrum on the ilium and treatment of it is discussed. Give the videos a watch as Sam gives a good explanation of what is actually happening and how we can reshape our testing and treatment of the area in our practice.

“Reconsider Those Theories: Cognitive Biases In Action” – Samuel Jarman

Exercise Saves Lives

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I’m a firm believer in that statement. If that is too bold of a statement you could at least agree that exercise enhances lives.

The different forms of exercise can make you stronger, faster and more mobile. Aside from physical benefits, what about the mental benefits of exercise? Can movement also help you cope, decrease depression and anxiety, and also make you happy?

I say, yes!

This best can be shown through two real-life examples: myself and one of my long-term patients.

Helping With Postpartum Depression

In May of 2017, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. My husband and I are so lucky! She was and still is, an easy baby. She’s laid back, very cute and eats and sleeps like an angel. 

So it was shocking to me when at about three months postpartum, until very recently, I suffered from postpartum depression. Wasn’t I the luckiest person to have this sweet girl in my life? I didn’t know how to get out of feeling so low all the time.

I have been a gym rat since I was 13 years old. Now as a 35-year-old mother I have never appreciated exercise more! I strength trained through my entire pregnancy and once baby arrived I couldn’t wait to feel well enough to get back in the gym! As my journey through postpartum depression intensified I found strength in the gym. I didn’t care that I could deadlift only half of what I used to and I could no longer do a pull-up without assistance.

I felt so much healthier mentally by just spending 40 minutes lifting weights.

Evidence supports the anti-depressive effects of exercise in the general population and small studies have been done to determine if exercise can also decrease postpartum depression. The literature suggests this is true, though more and larger studies should be conducted. While science hasn’t concluded that exercise can decrease depression in postpartum women, if you want real life proof, I will be your case study!

Helping With PTSD

An even better example of a positive exercise story is through my patient. He came to see me for massage therapy the first month of my career as a registered massage therapist and I have treated him almost weekly for eight years. 

Talk about loyal!

This patient had a significant workplace injury, was forced to retire and now lives with constant pain. He also has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and deals with frequent episodes and nightmares. I have learned a lot from him in the past eight years.

He has had ups and downs. High levels of opioids, sleeping pills and other medications, weight loss and weight gain, good days and very low days. He has had plans and goals that have fallen through because he feels too much pain.

Recently, he came into my massage room and said, “F*#& It! I’m going to do this on my own!” He didn’t want to rely on constant pills, doctors and psychologists anymore. He decided to take his health into his own hands.

He started walking. Five kilometres almost every day.

Then he started running.

Running turned into more running. More running turned into healthy eating. Healthy eating turned into losing 60 pounds in less than a year. I joke that we both lost 60 pounds last year, him from exercise and me from giving birth (plus exercise and healthy eating)!

But the best part of the running was the things positive things he would say to me each week:

“My PTSD symptoms are less severe.”

“I’ve been sleeping a lot better.”

“I can handle intense situations now.”

He still has pain. Every day. That has not changed. But he has found something that makes him feel good and has improved his mental health:

Exercise.

I saw dark roads for both myself and my patient, but now we lift or run our way to health and happiness.

“Sometimes the briefest moments capture us and demand that we live the rest of our lives in reference to them.” – Lucy Grealy.

This quote hits the nail on the head for our type of situations. An injury, a traumatic experience, or a lifestyle change can hugely affect how we view and live the remainder of our lives. Encourage your patients (or yourself) to find movement that they enjoy and that makes them feel good. You might find exercise saving one of your patients one day.

Articles Of The Week July 14, 2018

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Joletta has always been great at sharing her pain experiences, so we can better understand what the patient is going through, but with this post, she shares some more personal information on a few topics including grief. And as always, it’s well worth the read.

“Our Shared Humanity, Grief, Why I’ve Been Away, And Some Musings On Pain, Biology, Life…” – Joletta Belton

As we have talked so many times about how pain is an output of the brain and has so much to do with the processing of injuries. Neuroplasticity of the brain is a component to this and this research review discusses neuroplastic changes and its role in moving an injury from acute to chronic long term.

“Research Review: Neuroplasticity In The Central Nervous System” – Whitney Lowe

We know how important educating our patients is, a study showed that education can actually lead to a significant reduction in disability, and improved mental and physical health.

“Don’t Be Afraid Of Pain” – Nicholas Bakalar

As someone who does a lot in the sport massage world, this is an interesting article. The title seems to reflect negatively on massage, but this isn’t the case. The broader point is to take into account what is better psychologically for the athlete.

“Massage Therapy Is No Better Than Dynamic Warm Up To Improve Sprinting Acceleration” – Nick Ng

This is a great interview with our friend Shelly Prosko on how to integrate yoga as part of your practice to help patients with pain.

“How To Integrate Yoga Practice Into Modern Pain Practice” – Shelly Prosko

 

 

5 Ways To Build A Referral Relationship With Chiropractors

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Coming out of school I was fired up to help people.  I attended lots of conferences, did evening training sessions with veteran chiropractors, worked with athletes, sports teams, and everything else I could think of to be as good as possible.  

Like massage, chiropractic yields good results and it feels amazing to help people get better. However, I wasn’t always successful which was disheartening. For some patients, I tried everything I knew, but it wasn’t enough.

Looking back, I can see that my ego was getting in the way of what was best for the patient.  

After being in practice for 13 years now, I realize that no practitioner, no matter how good, can help everyone.  Referring a patient is sometimes the best option, even when it feels frustrating that chiropractic treatment didn’t get them where they want.  I think it’s best to refer to therapies you trust or have had good experiences with. For example, I’m happy to refer to things such as massage or acupuncture because they’ve helped me with my health.

I have found that referring a patient isn’t always easy. Medical professionals should consider the practitioner to whom they are referring.  

The most important question any practitioner should consider is: “Do I trust the person I am referring my patient to?”  Ideally, there would be a relationship between the two practitioners and trust built therein. You want to feel comfortable that your profession won’t be denigrated, or you, for that matter.  

You also want to be comfortable enough to have a conversation with the practitioner to ensure the patient is not getting contradicting information which puts them in the difficult position of not knowing what to believe or who to trust.  We all have our patients best interest at heart but if two practitioners are saying different things, it can diminish the patient’s healing process. If I trust the other practitioner and know they are professional, and good at what they do, it makes it easy to refer.  

Sometimes this still might not work because that practitioner may already have a professional in your field they are more comfortable with. It’s optimal to be in a reciprocal relationship where you refer to them and they refer to you. It may take time to find that person and to build trust with each other.  

Don’t expect referrals to come right away; build relationships and get to know practitioners both in your field and others. Remember too that patients move around, so knowing practitioners in other communities can be of benefit as well.

5 Keys To Building A Relationship

Building trust with a chiropractor may be more challenging than you think.

I’ve received dozens of phone calls, emails and even had RMT’s come to the office to drop off business cards. Honestly, very few, if any, have turned into meaningful referral relationships. Many of the healthcare practitioners I trust the most and have the best relationships with have taken time to build.

Typically this has happened through working on sports teams with them or trading services. Having a common interest with another practitioner such as a chiropractor can be very helpful. An example might be working with athletes or specific types of injuries or even specializing in children or pregnancy. Trading services is another fantastic way to build trust because you both know exactly how the other person treats and the way they work with patients.

As a huge benefit, you both stay healthy so you can help more people and enjoy life.

Here are five keys to excellent referral relationships: 

  1. To get referrals you need to refer.  Recommend your patient see a practitioner in another field when you feel it’s needed.  A good time may be if the patient asks about other therapies or if they aren’t progressing as quickly as expected.  If you refer the patient, it is likely they’ll have a better outcome and it helps build professional relationships. I know when I receive a referral from someone I’m more likely to reciprocate.
  2. Follow-up with referrals by thanking the other professional.  This could be in the form of a call, card, letter, or email and it doesn’t need to be lengthy or overly formal.  In situations where you know the professional well and have a good working relationship, a text may be appropriate.
  3. When you disagree with another practitioner diagnosis, don’t share that with the patient.  Often other professions look at things differently and it doesn’t make them wrong. Treat them the way you feel is right.  You can have your interpretation or diagnosis, but it doesn’t help to discredit the other professional. If appropriate, have a conversation with the other practitioner to understand their reasoning or point of view.  This will build the relationship and educate you both. If you do decide to have a conversation, it is important to make sure you are approaching it from a position of learning rather than defending or arguing.
  4. If the patient gets relief from your treatment and it is appropriate, be sure to send them back to the referring professional as needed or for co-management.  This is important because if the patient doesn’t return to the original practitioner they may feel that you have ‘stolen’ their patient.
  5. If you are struggling to try and find practitioners to refer to, it may be time to build your professional network.  There are many ways to meet chiropractors from networking groups, meetings, seminars, etc. Be friendly and genuinely inquisitive about the other person’s business.  Find out what types of patients or conditions they like to treat and how and where they practice. Be sure to exchange business cards and follow up.

If you had a rapport with another professional, even if it is in your own field, it is well worth your time to maintain contact and build the relationship and trust.

Unexpected Benefits to Referring

Another reason I was reluctant to refer out early in my career was because I worried that if I didn’t help the person get relief and someone else helped them, that they would think poorly of myself or chiropractic.

As a result, I tried to be a ‘jack of all trades.’

The problem with that is I found myself worrying about patients getting results and I started to spread myself thin. I found this stressful and it made my practice not very fun. I know now that patients don’t expect miracles from their healthcare provider, just results and an honest, competent and caring demeanour. They understand that one healthcare professional can’t fix everything. The beauty of referring a patient to someone else with a different expertise is that it takes the pressure off you, patient’s get better results and they know you have their best interests at heart. I hope you’ve found this helpful and wishing you a wonderful career!

Articles Of The Week July 8, 2018

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There seems to be constant debate around the topic of trigger points, and these first two articles are just that! Both articles are worth the read, and I’m sure the debate will be contested regularly.

In this article, the author discusses whether trigger points are a tissue-based sensitization or a result of central sensitization? The author goes on to argue that they are not a result of central sensitization.

“Trigger Points And The Nervous System: Myth Or Reality?” – Cesar Fernandez-de-las-Penas

This is in response to the above article. The argument is that trigger points are the result of sensitized peripheral neural tissue.

“Tilting At Trigger Points” – John Quinter

A new study shows that aerobic exercise 24 hours after a concussion can be beneficial. However, it should be exercise with minimal head movement, like stationary cycling. Exercises involving head movements like swimming, or jogging would not be recommended.

“Starting Aerobic Exercise Soon After Concussion Improves Recovery Times” – University Of Toronto

A key goal in tendinopathy rehab is improving the capacity of the tendon and muscle to manage load. We also want to reduce pain, and this article shows how to properly progress a tendinopathy rehab program.

“Tendinopathy Rehab Progression Part 1” – Tom Goom

While this post is probably meant for a bit of humour, it hits home an important point. This is why a good intake and communication with patients is crucial, as is the knowledge of various conditions and their contraindications.

“The Masseuse Who Pulled My Arm Out” – Angela Clarke

 

 

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