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What Can You Do Today to Make Your Back Feel a Little Better?

So - you got up this morning and your back was feeling stiff and achy ...as usual 

Oh - that again!

                             So what's new?

You have probably heard this expression before - If you keep doing the same things - you'll keep getting the same result.

So try something different:

Think of all of the postural habits you have developed over the years.

You have a favorite chair, a way you always sit when you're watching TV, you sleep on the right side of the bed, your desk chair is a certain height...

Change all of these things today. 

Do these things differently for a few days and see the difference in how you feel.

Now take a big step: first write down how you're feeling right now. Write one sentence and give a number to how you feel - using the 0 -10 scale where "0" I feel fine and "10" is off the page, horrible pain. You MUST write it down.

Now do five (5) minutes of exercise, jumping jacks, marching in place, fake jumping rope, etc. keep moving for 5 minutes and then stop. Wait 5 minutes and "re-rate" how you feel - again - you must write it down.

How did you do?

I bet you feel better.

Do this everyday but differently...everyday and work on breaking all of your posture habits

 

 

 

Why Do I Hurt More When I Am Stressed Out?

Neck and back pain can easily come from being stressed.

Stress and back pain are inter-related.

Whether it’s from fatigue, mental, emotional strain, physical pain, or any other cause,

stress starts a chain of events in the nervous system that, when prolonged, leads to pain and,then more stress because pain itself is a stress.

Most cases of back pain are due to joints in the spine that are stuck or cannot move freely.

 When joints are “stuck” or don’t move properly, this is a “stress”. Motion-sensing nerves inside the joint tell an area of the brain that the joint is stuck and under stress. This stress causes a release of the stress hormone called cortisol.

 Contant exposure to cortisol causes a number of changes that soon result in more pain.

First – it tightens blood vessels and your muscles get very tight. Muscles that are too tight and don’t get enough oxygen from constricted blood vessels - will hurt and… they also restrict the movement of joints…causing the problem to keep going.

 Cortisol also causes the brain to stop making another hormone called serotonin. 

Serotonin affects your perception of pain as well as your alertness, your sleep / wake cycles, your moods, emotions, ability to relax, and ability to heal.       

Without Serotonin – you feel more pain and you feel more stressed.   

Taking pain medication won’t solve the problem. The problem is due to joints not moving. 

Pain Meds don’t make joints move any better.

Many have found that chiropractic care is very effective care for stress and back pain because the chiropractic adjustment is specifically directed at restoring the movement of spinal joints.  With the return of normal joint movement the pain stops… and cortisol production (which was causing the tight joints), drops off and the serotonin levels return to normal allowing you to feel better again. 

Pain and stress form their own vicious cycle.

To break the cycle you must get the non-moving joint(s) in the spine moving.