How does exercise affect nerve pain?
Exercise also led to increased expression of a protein, called heat shock protein-27, which may have contributed to the reductions in cytokine expression.
Neuropathic pain causes burning pain and numbness that is not controlled by conventional pain medications. Antidepressant and antiepileptic drugs may be helpful, but have significant side effects. Exercise is commonly recommended for patients with various types of chronic pain, but there are conflicting data as to whether it is helpful in neuropathic pain.
The new results support the benefits of exercise in reducing neuropathic pain, though not eliminating it completely. In the experiments, exercise reduced abnormal pain responses by 30 to 50 percent.
What kind of exercise is safe - and fun - if you have nerve damage from diabetes, called diabetic neuropathy? And how can you stay motivated after that first flush of inspiration fades?
“It depends on where you’re starting,” says Dace L. Trence, MD, an endocrinologist and director of the Diabetes Care Center at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. “For the person who has been doing nothing, you would certainly want to start doing something that’s comfortable and enjoyable and can be maintained.”
If you have diabetic nerve pain in your feet, legs, arms, or hands, consider this: research published in The Journal of Diabetes Complications in 2006 showed significant benefits of exercise in controlling peripheral neuropathy. The study showed that for people who took a brisk, one-hour walk on a treadmill four times a week, exercise slowed how quickly their nerve damage worsened. There’s no quick fix here, though; the study lasted four years.
Let’s face it: when it comes to managing a lifelong condition like diabetes, it makes sense to think long-term. It’s all about lifestyle changes to protect yourself from diabetic nerve damage. Becoming more active can help you control blood sugar levels, feel good, and lighten the load on painful feet and legs, especially if you’re overweight. These tips can help you start and stick with an exercise plan for more than the first few days.
The study also adds new evidence that inflammation contributes to the development of neuropathic pain, including the possible roles of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The results provide support for exercise as a helpful, nondrug therapy for neuropathic pain - potentially reducing the need for medications and resulting side effects.
###
About the IARS
The International Anesthesia Research Society is a nonpolitical, not-for-profit medical society founded in 1922 to advance and support scientific research and education related to anesthesia, and to improve patient care through basic research. The IARS contributes nearly $1 million annually to fund anesthesia research; provides a forum for anesthesiology leaders to share information and ideas; maintains a worldwide membership of more than 15,000 physicians, physician residents, and others with doctoral degrees, as well as health professionals in anesthesia related practice; sponsors the SmartTots initiative in partnership with the FDA; and publishes the monthly journal Anesthesia & Analgesia in print and online.
About Anesthesia & Analgesia
Anesthesia & Analgesia was founded in 1922 and was issued bi-monthly until 1980, when it became a monthly publication. A&A is the leading journal for anesthesia clinicians and researchers and includes more than 500 articles annually in all areas related to anesthesia and analgesia, such as cardiovascular anesthesiology, patient safety, anesthetic pharmacology, and pain management. The journal is published on behalf of the IARS by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), a division of Wolters Kluwer Health.
###
Lisa Webb
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
215-521-8319
Anesthesia and Analgesia