Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

When you live with chronic pain, the only one who can know how much it hurts is you. Pain can be hard to describe because it’s both invisible and personal. If you can’t put into words how much pain you’re in or how it affects your life, your doctor, physical therapist or fitness trainer can’t prescribe the right treatment or exercises for you. Go through these questions to help you get the relief you need.  

What Does the Pain Feel Like?  

Be as specific as possible about how your pain feels to help your doctor figure out what is wrong.  Here are a few words you can use to describe the way your pain feels, and how your doctor might interpret them:  

• Aching, dull: muscle strains, arthritis pain  
• Shooting, electric, tingling, burning, pins-and-needles: nerve pain  
• Sharp, stabbing: injuries such as a broken bone, muscle or ligament tear, or penetrating wound 
• Throbbing: headache, abscess, gout  
• Tightness: muscle spasm

Where do you have Pain? Describe exactly where you hurt. 

Here are a few examples:   

• Deep in my shoulder joint or in the muscles near the surface. 
• Under the kneecap or in the back of the knee. 
• The outside of my hip or in my groin.  
• Is the pain in only one spot, or does it travel?  
• Does the pain remain steady, come and go, or only flare up when you move in a certain way? 

How Much Does it Hurt?  

Explain the intensity of your pain. That’s where the pain scale comes in. Your doctor will likely ask you to “rate” your pain on a scale of 0 to 10 – where 0 is pain-free and 10 is unimaginable pain. The doctor can use your score to help determine what type of treatment you may need.  

How Does the Pain Affect Your Life?  

Tell your doctor which activities you’ve had to adjust, and which ones you now avoid entirely because of your pain. The impact the pain has on your life is just as important as the pain itself.  

Examples of life changes:   

• Have you been skipping your morning walk because of the pain?  
• Are you missing out on normal activities?  
• Can you barely get out of bed in the morning?  
• Does the pain leave you so drained and depressed that you don’t want to be around people?  

When Do You Hurt?  

Try keeping a journal to help you track when in the day your pain is at its worst. The timing of pain can help your doctor fine-tune your treatment. For example, if you tell your doctor you have higher pain in the morning versus the evening, they can adjust your treatment. 

What Helps/Worsens Your Pain?  

Make note in your journal what you’ve tried to relieve the pain (rest, ice, heat, over-the-counter pain medicine). Did they ease the pain, have no effect or make it more intense?  

With a good description of your pain, your doctor will have a better chance of getting you the relief you need. But even when your doctor knows the cause of your pain, treatment might not be a quick fix. It a trial-and-error process that takes time. Be patient, but persistent.  

Sleep is an essential need that the human body requires. It is vital for the infrastructure of good health. Not getting enough sleep can have a great effect on the body physically and mentally.   

The two basic types of sleep are rapid eye movement (REM sleep) and non-REM sleep. Deep sleep is known as non-REM, while dreaming state typically occurs during REM. Generally, non-REM and REM sleep present themselves in a regular pattern of 3–5 cycles each night.  

Your body’s effectiveness to operate and feel well during the day relies on whether you are getting enough total sleep AND adequate amounts of each type of sleep. It also depends on whether you are sleeping at a time when your body is prepared and ready to sleep.  

Health Conditions Linked to a Lack of Sleep  

Adults typically need a minimum of seven hours of sleep each night. When the minimal amount is not met, health conditions such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and obesity can occur or worsen.   

• High Blood Pressure: Blood pressure levels go down during normal sleep. Staying awake longer or having problems sleeping means your blood pressure is staying higher for a longer amount of time.  
• Type 2 Diabetes: Diabetes causes sugar to build up in your blood. Getting enough sleep may help people regulate blood sugar levels. Researchers believe that sleep restriction may affect blood sugar levels due to its effects on insulin, cortisol and oxidative stress.  
• Obesity: The part of the brain that controls hunger needs a healthy balance of the hormone's ghrelin (makes you feel hungry) and leptin (makes you feel full). Not getting enough sleep may cause more ghrelin levels to increase, which will make you feel hungrier than when you are well-rested.   

How Do I Get Better Sleep?  

• Stick to a routine - A regular sleep schedule will cause your circadian rhythm to stay on track. Go to bed at the same time each night and wake up at the same time each morning. Try not to vary too much, even on the weekends. 
• Physical Activity - Get enough exercise during the day. Try not to do too much physical activity within a few hours of your regularly scheduled bedtime.  
• Don’t eat or drink within a few hours of bedtime - Eating or drinking too much within a few hours of bedtime causes your organs to “wake up”. It may impair your sleep cycle and cause you to have trouble managing your blood sugar.  
• Keep your bedroom dark, cool and quiet - This type of environment is the most welcoming environment for your body to prepare for sleep.  
  
  

What do you do to prepare for sleep?