"Regular Exercise Helps Decrease Pain in Older Adults"

I believe this to be true!

by Krisha McCoy, MS

It is no secret that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your health, especially as you get older. In older people, exercise is associated with a decreased risk of death; stronger bones and muscles; preserved independence; better mental health; and decreased risks of cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Exercising later in life has also been shown to help reduce pain, which is common with aging. But some health professionals have expressed concern that vigorous exercise, such as running, may be associated with increased pain and disability, since running can increase the risk of injuries and their complications.

A new study in the September 19, 2005 issue of Arthritis Research and Therapy compared members of the Fifty-Plus Runners’ Association to older people not in this group and found that avid exercisers had significantly lower pain over a period of 14 years.
About the Study

This study included 492 Fifty-Plus Runners’ Association members and 374 control participants, who were taking part in a cholesterol study. The average age of the participants when the study began was 63 years.

The participants filled out mailed questionnaires every year, which assessed their medical history, health status, exercise habits, history of injuries, height and weight, smoking status, and alcohol use.

Using the data from these questionnaires, the researchers determined the number of weekly minutes each participant exercised vigorously (resulting in sweating and a pulse rate over 120). In each questionnaire, the participants rated their level of pain and stiffness in the past week on a scale of 0-100 (with 0 indicating no pain and 100 indicating worst pain).

In their analyses, the researchers controlled for other factors that may influence pain, including gender, age, body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height), smoking, arthritis, fractures, and cancer.

Continue here on the findings.

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