Washington, DC: People with cancer commonly experience long-term pain, but a new study finds that being physically active may help minimize the severity of cancer. suggests.
Wiley published the study in the American Cancer Society’s peer-reviewed publication CANCER.
Although physical activity has been shown to alleviate a variety of pain, its impact on cancer-related discomfort is unknown.
For the study, a team led by senior author Erica Rees Punia, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, and lead author Christopher TV Swain, PhD, MPH and University of Melbourne, Australia, analyzed information on 51,439 adults with no medical history. . of cancer and 10,651 adults with a previous diagnosis of cancer.
Participants were asked, “How would you rate your pain on average?” and answered on a scale from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Participants were also asked about their usual physical activity.
U.S. guidelines recommend 150 minutes (2 hours 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week, or 75 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes) to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week. minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes). physical activity.
Based on participants’ responses, researchers found that more physical activity was associated with lower pain intensity in people with past cancer and in people without a history of cancer. discovered.
The magnitude of the association was similar in both groups of individuals, indicating that exercise may reduce cancer-related pain, similar to other types of pain studied in the past.
Among participants with a past cancer diagnosis, those exceeding physical activity guidelines were more likely to report moderate to severe pain compared to participants not meeting physical activity guidelines16 percentage was low.
Also, compared to those who remained inactive, those who were consistently active or became active later in life reported less pain.
“Although it may seem counterintuitive to some, physical activity is an effective non-pharmacological option to reduce many types of pain. As our research suggests, this includes and pain related to its treatment,” said Dr. Reese Punia.
