Did You Know That Changing Your Diet Can Actually Lessen Your Pain?
Is chronic pain disrupting your daily routine? If you see a physical therapist to manage a chronic pain condition, you will likely be given nutritional advice as part of the process.
Although physical therapists are not nutritionists, they can provide nutritional advice to patients. Dietary changes can make a huge difference in reducing or eliminating pain in some chronic conditions.
Certain foods have been shown to reduce inflammation, while others have been shown to aggravate it. In fact, “a lot of chronic pain is the result of chronic inflammation,” according to Harvard Health Publishing. “The evidence is quite strong that your diet can contribute to increased systemic inflammation.”
If you’d like to learn more about how nutrition and physical therapy work together, please contact our office to schedule an appointment.
How does nutrition affect my health?
A number of common conditions in the United States are directly related to diet and nutrition. Here are a few examples of conditions where nutritional advice will most likely be part of a patient’s physical therapy regimen:
- Osteoarthritis: Obese patients are more likely to develop arthritis, especially in the knee. Once a person has been diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the knee, controlling their weight becomes the most important key to managing the arthritis pain.
- Obesity: Obesity-related pain can become a vicious cycle. Because being overweight causes pain, patients become more sedentary. A lack of physical activity causes them to gain more weight, which in turn causes them to experience more pain.
- Diabetes: Diabetes and pre-diabetes are precursors to more serious conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and blindness. Diabetes is associated with neuropathic pain in more than 90% of patients. Diet and nutrition will be crucial in the management of these conditions.
- Autoimmune Disorders: In America, the combined total of patients with various autoimmune disorders (such as Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis) now outnumbers cancer patients by a wide margin. Autoimmune disorders are frequently linked to dietary deficiencies in patients.
- Inflammation: Vegetable oils and other inflammatory foods are commonly found in American diets. This can aggravate the pain caused by inflammation. In many cases, a physical therapist will recommend a diet high in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory foods to help with pain management.
How can a physical therapist improve my diet?
Proper nutrition can help to prevent many diseases and illnesses. The good news is that it’s never too late to make a healthy lifestyle change. Altering your diet can help you reverse the symptoms and pain of a variety of conditions.
Your physical therapist will not only assist you in resolving muscle and joint pain through exercise, but will also provide nutritional guidance. Addressing your dietary status and needs during your first appointment with a physical therapist may be an important part of the process.
Patients may also be referred to a dietitian in some cases. To help reduce chronic aches and pains, lose weight, and improve your overall health, you may be prescribed an entirely new diet.
Here are two diets that a physical therapist may suggest to patients:
- DASH Diet: DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It’s a diet that is low in saturated fats and cholesterol, and which has a heavy emphasis on more fruits and vegetables. The DASH Diet can reduce hypertension and lower the risk of heart disease, while also helping patients to manage their weight.
- Mediterranean Diet: The Mediterranean diet has been linked to the strikingly low rates of heart disease in certain Mediterranean countries. This diet features a lot of fish with Omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also high in plant-based fats such as olive oils and nuts.
Working with a physical therapist to manage your pain through exercise and diet can change your life. Every year, physical therapists help hundreds of thousands of patients improve their health and reduce aches and pains.
What are other steps I can take to diminish my aches and pains?
Maintaining a nutritious dietary plan with the assistance of a physical therapist should quickly result in a reduction in your pain and inflammation symptoms.
In addition, you can help manage your pain and inflammation by doing the following:
- Weight loss: If you have some unwanted weight, getting down to your ideal body weight will help with your pain and inflammation.
- Stress management: If you’re feeling mentally stressed, your body can become physically stressed – causing more inflammation and a longer recovery rate. Taking time to relax can actually allow you to heal quicker!
- Daily exercise: Exercise will keep your muscles warm, which can alleviate pain or stiffness, and stop your inflammation from becoming worse.
Ready to feel better? Contact our clinic today!
Are you ready to make your chronic pain a thing of the past? To schedule your first appointment with a licensed physical therapist, Contact Atta Rehab. We can help alleviate your aches and pains starting today!
