Exercise may help reduce pain in cancer survivors, research has shown.
A recently published study found that there were no significant differences between people with a history of cancer and those without a history of cancer in terms of physical activity and reduction in pain intensity, but those with cancer who increased physical activity Survivors may experience less pain than survivors who are less physically active.in diary cancer.
Specifically, the researchers wanted to see if physical activity would reduce pain in people with a history of cancer. They established that physically active participants reported less pain than those who remained physically inactive, even if they had recently become physically active.
“Participants who became active after being previously inactive had less pain than those who remained inactive, an encouraging finding, suggesting the benefits of increasing physical activity after cancer. “, the study authors wrote.
“We also observed that people who were previously active but became less active had less pain than participants who were much less active,” the researchers wrote. “This may suggest that the benefits of physical activity on pain intensity can be maintained even after a period of inactivity.”
Researchers included 51,439 participants without a history of cancer and 10,651 participants with a history of cancer in the analysis. Of the total number of participants, 1,388 did not identify as non-Latino and White, of which 612 identified as Black, 321 identified as Asian/Pacific Islander; 249 people identified as Latino (all races) and 87 as other. Researchers noted that race was unknown for 119 participants.
Researchers found that among participants with a history of cancer, there were more men than women, with 58% having a history of cancer and 38% having no history of cancer. It was reported that it was.
Researchers found that levels of physical activity were similar between participants with and without a history of cancer, with 44,317 participants choosing walking as their most common form of physical activity. I decided to report it.
Researchers found that other common physical activities reported by participants included weight training (12,619 participants), cycling (11,718 participants), other aerobic exercise (11,440 participants), and jogging. /Running (5,280 participants).
“We found that meeting or exceeding physical activity guidelines reduced pain intensity compared to not being physically active. “People who were previously physically active or who became active reported less pain than those who were inactive,” the study authors wrote.
The researchers noted that among participants with a history of cancer, there was likely an association between physical activity and gender, cancer location, and treatment received. More specifically, we found that effect estimates were more common for women than for men.
The researchers also found that the effect estimates were larger for participants with breast, blood, and other cancers compared to colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. said.
“Among people with a history of cancer, the association between physical activity and pain was stronger for women compared to men,” the researchers said in the study. “This may be partially explained by pain associated with different cancer types, as we also noted a slightly larger effect estimate for breast compared to prostate cancer.”
Regarding treatment, researchers found that participants who received radiation therapy and chemotherapy and those who did not receive radiation therapy or chemotherapy had lower physical activity compared to participants who received radiation therapy alone or chemotherapy alone. I found that it was more obvious that I was benefiting from it.
In addition to analyzing differences between physical activity and pain, researchers also evaluated the association between pain and pain medication use in participants with a history of cancer.
“There was no relationship between physical activity and exercise.” [painkiller] “Do not use in people with a history of cancer,” they wrote. “This was unexpected because it was thought that when pain is reduced, pain is also reduced.” [painkiller] use. This finding may reflect that although physical activity improves pain, it may not improve enough to make visible changes. [painkiller] use. “
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