09/26/2026
We tend to think of exercise as something we do to get stronger, lose weight or improve our health somewhere down the road.
But sometimes the benefit is much more immediate.
A massive new review looked at 157 studies, covering more than 220,000 people, and found that exercise significantly reduced both acute and chronic pain. The researchers found benefits across just about every form of movement they studied — aerobic exercise, strength training, Pilates, yoga, tai chi and even dance.
Perhaps the most interesting part: more wasn’t necessarily better.
Lower-intensity exercise and programs requiring less than two hours per week were associated with some of the largest reductions in pain. And “low intensity” doesn’t have to mean much more complicated than taking a 20-minute walk around the neighborhood at a comfortable pace.
Researchers found the average reduction in pain was comparable to — and potentially greater than — what has been reported in separate studies of common pain medications.
That doesn’t mean you should throw away the Advil. The researchers weren’t directly comparing exercise to medication, and exercise certainly isn’t a cure for every ache and pain.
But it is another reminder that our bodies were designed to move. And sometimes when something hurts, the answer isn’t necessarily to stop moving.
It may be to find the right way to keep moving.
