Want a gentle, non-invasive solution for pain with no side effects?
Ask your physiotherapist!

What’s the connection between pain and many of our killer diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease? Well, one strong link,
says Dr Ina Diener, president of the South African Society of Physiotherapy (SASP), is inflammation.1 Inflammation is a key component of
pain as well as these conditions.

“…inflammation sets the stage for heart attacks, most strokes, peripheral artery disease…” (Harvard Health Publications2)

“…inflammation’s dark side is a powerful force in cancer development...” (Cancer Research UK3)

“Systemic inflammatory markers are risk factors for the development of type 2 diabetes and its macrovascular complications.” (Natalie Esser,
et al, Inflammation as a link between obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes4)

So it seems obvious that reducing inflammation will work not just to manage pain, but also to achieve good health – but how? “It’s in your
own hands – and arms and legs and body!” says Dr Diener. “The secret weapon is exercise. Recent research has shown that exercise is a
medicine each of us can easily apply to reduce inflammation.”

Moderate exercise results in improvements in systemic inflammation, according to Jacob Allen and his colleagues, whose research paper on
Exercise and the Regulation of Inflammatory Responses was published in July 2015 online in Progress in Molecular Biology and
Translational Science5.

“This is why our theme for the 2015 National Physiotherapy BackWeek is ‘Movement for Good Health – Exercise!’,” says Dr Diener.
“Obviously exercise has so many positive benefits for health, but there’s a lot of research showing that it is an important tool for pain
management too.6” And you only need to do 150-450 minutes a week of moderate exercise like brisk walking to get these results 7.

If you experience any kind of pain when moving or exercising, your physiotherapist is the expert in physical function. Take advantage of
National Physiotherapy BackWeek, 7-13 September 2015, to find one of the many physiotherapists offering free assessments and advice in
public places like shopping malls – call the SASP Head Office on 011 615-3170 to find out more.

References

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264053196_Introduction_Oxidation_and_Inflammation_A_Molecular_Link_Between_Non-communicable_Diseases

http://www.health.harvard.edu/family_health_guide/what-you-eat-can-fuel-or-cool-inflammation-a-key-driver-of-heart-disease-diabetes-and-other-chronic-conditions

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2013/02/01/feeling-the-heat-the-link-between-inflammation-and-cancer/

http://www.diabetesresearchclinicalpractice.com/article/S0168-8227(14)00187-9/abstract

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877117315001350

http://rfi.fmrp.usp.br/pg/fisio/cursao2012/exercandpain.pdf

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/the-right-dose-of-exercise-for-a-longer-life/

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