Stress and Back Problems

December 14, 2008 by soreback · Comments Off 

PREVENTING STRESS

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just take a pill that makes us impervious to stress and anxiety, or flip some type of switch that shuts off all the problems and stresses of the world?

Yeah, right.

That would be nice but until that time occurs we need to do whatever we can to keep ourselves from being overly stressed or from reacting in a way that damages us physically.

Sometimes we don’t recognize stress because we’re so used to it – our job has always been stressful, our family life has always been less than ideal.  But being mindful of stress is the first step toward preventing it from affecting our back and the pain we might feel.

Learning new ways of looking at things may be key to preventing our anxiety from overwhelming us so that it doesn’t get to the point where we have physical pain.  Our job may be less than thrilling and our home life might difficult but a person can work on not letting the small things bother them or realize that no one has a perfect situation and this is just part of life in this world.  Many anxieties and stresses are things that are blown out of proportion or are the result of a person thinking more negatively about them than they need to be.

Exercise is important

When it comes to preventing back injury and stress from affecting the back exercise may be an important part here as well.  Exercise releases endorphins, those “feel good” chemicals that help us to feel relaxed and happy.  It also increases blood flow and oxygen flow and these too also help to boost one’s mood.  Regular physical activity can keep one’s weight under control as well, and this can help a person to feel positive and happy as well; as superficial as it might be, one’s appearance can go a long way toward affecting how one faces the world.

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Another benefit to exercising when you have back pain due to stress is that exercise will force those muscles to stretch and will encourage blood flow and circulation in the area of the back.  This too will help it to relax and be pain free.  Even a simple walk around the block or quick bike ride can go a long way toward relieving tension and stress and making those back muscles feel loose and relaxed.

What to avoid

When a person is under stress it’s all too easy to drown that anxiety in alcohol or other substances, or to take that anger and frustration out on others with yelling and fits of temper.  These things of course don’t help the stress go away and can make the physical pain that one feels even worse.  When a person is angry and yelling the heart races unnaturally and the muscles tense up even more, readying for that confrontation.

Learning effective ways of dealing with stress and anxiety is the only real solution to being as pain free as possible, and this includes the pain in the back!

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