USA TODAY: Though chronic pain is often hidden from the USA’s front pages and TV screens, it is actually Americans’ biggest health problem. Chronic pain — typically defined as pain lasting more than three to six months — affects 100 million adult Americans, according to a 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine, part of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2010, that was more than 40% of the adult population. It is the leading reason people go to doctors and it costs the nation upwards of $635 billion a year — more than cancer, heart disease and diabetes combined…
When people in pain get up the courage to exercise, they are often pleasantly surprised: In a 2008 survey of more than 14,000 subscribers to Consumer Reports, the top-rated measure to help relieve back pain was exercise.
Exercise is also a powerful way to prevent chronic pain. Among young and middle-aged people, the prevalence of chronic pain was 10% to 12% lower for exercisers, a 2011 Norwegian study of 46,533 adults found. The advantage becomes even more striking for older people. For women aged 65 and over, the prevalence of chronic pain was 21% to 38% lower among exercisers; for men, exercisers had a significant, though slightly smaller, advantage… (more)
