04 Dec Pain management through exercise
Ever experienced « runner’s high » or a feeling of elation after a bout of intense aerobic exercise ?
New study from Germany finds your body makes its own «cannabis » during exercise !!!
After a nice long bout of aerobic exercise, some people experience what’s known as a “runner’s high”: a feeling of euphoria coupled with reduced anxiety and a lessened ability to feel pain.
For decades, scientists have associated this phenomenon with an increased level in the blood of β-endorphins, opioid peptides thought to elevate mood.
Now, German researchers have shown the brain’s endocannabinoid system—the same one affected by marijuana’s Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—may also play a role in producing runner’s high, at least in mice (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2015, DOI: 10.1072/pnas.1514996112).
The researchers hit upon the endocannabinoid system as possibly being involved because they observed that endorphins can’t pass through the blood-brain barrier . On the other hand, a lipid-soluble endocannabinoid called anandamide—also found at high levels in people’s blood after running—can travel from the blood into the brain, where it can trigger a high.
At DouleurMD , we take an integrative approach to pain management . Lifestyle change , exercise and regenerative medicine (using your own body innate power to heal itself) play a central role in helping our patients get back to a healthier , joyful life
Contact us for more information on how we can get you back « running » on the road to life !
Patrick Benhaim, MD, FRCPC
Physiatry, Pain management specialist & founder of Clinic DouleurMD