In a study published in Anesthesia & Analgesia, researchers discovered that exercise reduces certain inflammation-promoting factors called cytokines — a revelation that supports the use of exercise as a nondrug treatment for neuropathic pain.
In the study, Yu-Wen Chen, PhD, and colleagues examined the effects of exercise on neuropathic pain induced by sciatic nerve injury in rats. After nerve injury, some of the rats performed progressively rigorous exercise over the span of several weeks, and results suggested significant reductions in neuropathic pain in rats assigned to swimming or treadmill running. Specifically, exercise reduced abnormal responses to temperature and pressure — both characteristic of neuropathic pain.
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