Why exercise matters.

Many people associate exercise with looking good, recovering from sporting injuries, or improving athletic performance. While these are certainly benefits, they only represent a small part of what exercise can do. In reality, regular physical activity is one of the most powerful tools we have for improving overall health. Exercise has been shown to, reduce pain, improve longevity and lower the risk of many chronic diseases. In fact, if it could be packaged as a pill, exercise would be one of the most widely prescribed treatments in the world.

So, let’s highlight some of these benefits.

One of the main benefits of regular exercise is injury prevention. Many injuries occur when the body is exposed to physical demands that it is not suitably prepared for, creating an overload. This can happen suddenly or gradually over time during sport, work or everyday activities such as gardening, cleaning or lifting. Regular exercise helps prepare the body for these demands by improving strength, endurance and movement control, with this improved capacity allowing you to do more before that overload threshold is crossed. For example, stronger quadricep muscles can help reduce stress on your knees allowing you to garden for longer, run faster and lift more.

Additionally, exercise helps to improve overall health and longevity. Research shows that regular physical activity can help to prevent and manage heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer which contribute close to three quarters of worldwide deaths. Other health benefits associated with regular exercise include:

- Reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety

- Enhanced thinking, learning and energy levels

- Improved quality of sleep

- Reduced risk of falls

Another benefit of exercise is it can help to reduce long term pain and while this may sound counterintuitive, research shows that exercise can help manage many common pain conditions including lower back pain, osteoarthritis and tendinopathies. Exercise helps reduce pain in several ways. Movement increases blood flow to the area which helps deliver nutrients and support tissue healing while strengthening exercises can help support joints and reduce strain on aggravated structures. It is important however that exercise is performed at an appropriate level as doing too much can aggravate symptoms. This is where advice from a qualified physiotherapist can help you select the right exercises and progress them appropriately.

So, what should you do about it? Start moving. The World Health Organization recommends at least 150-300 minutes of moderate intensity exercise or 75-150 minutes of vigorous intensity activity per week for adults. While this may seem daunting at first, getting started is the most important part and starting small while slowly increasing makes it easier to create sustainable habits and avoid boom – bust cycles. It is also important to remember that for a lot of people the best form of exercise is the one that you can stick to regularly because consistency is key to seeing all those benefits so don’t get too caught up initially if what you’re doing is perfect. If however you want more tailored advice about what might be most suitable, you want help creating a program or you pick up a little niggle along the way, make an appointment with one of our friendly physiotherapists who can help guide you to a healthier lifestyle that works for you.