10 Daily Movements

Physical activity reduces nociception (or pain perception) in a few ways. One neat way is through altering our immune system response. Cytokines are cell signaling molecules. They are small proteins that trigger the growth and activity of immune cells. They spread the word that we’re under threat. Exercise decreases the number of inflammatory cytokines (inflammation messengers) released and increases the number of anti-inflammatory cytokines - these are the messengers that calm the immune response down. That’s just one reason to move. Every day.

You might say - that’s all well and good but it hurts.

So. Start small. Find your baseline of movement- walking once around the block for example. This needs to be an amount of movement that doesn’t make your pain worse. Stick to this baseline for a week. The next week increase your activity by a quarter to gradually build your exercise tolerance and also reduce your pain.

If you would like a good top to toe 10 minute exercise routine - perhaps you could try this one?

And, I've made short videos of each exercise below - because even though they seem easy - they are trickier than they seem 😉

head movements

opposite elbow to knee

touch toe behind your back

spin plates

lunge, reach opposite arm forward

side lunge

wrist movements

roll down and up with arm circles

walk through feet on the spot

balance on tip toes

and there you go 💪🏽 Enjoy!