Stress-Busting to Ease Back Pain

Many thanks to guest blogger Paul Jaggard owner of Get Back Supplies

Stress-Busting to Ease Back Pain

Stress is a difficult emotion to deal with – it's not always obvious what's causing the anxiety, or at difficult times in life there may be no easy way to relieve the tension. But, persistent stress can lead to chronic conditions including back pain.

If you’ve been searching for ways to fight back pain, you may need to look at your lifestyle as a whole and see if stress could be causing, or at least worsening, your pain.

At times of stress your body releases hormones intended to help you cope with the situation. In cave man days, stress might have been an encounter with a dangerous animal and these hormones would provide the energy to run from harm.

In our modern times stress is caused by more complicated experiences. If you've had bad news, a difficult experience at the office or are moving house you can't literally run away from the problem – or not for long. The stress hormones then build up in the body causing physical discomfort. So, how can you beat stress to alleviate pain?

Exercise to Beat Stress
The number one way to beat stress is to get some exercise. Cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline combine to increase your blood pressure, boost your heart rate and increase the sugar in your blood stream.

In short, your body is full of energy and ready to go, so get out and exercise to release the tension. You don't have to run a marathon - dancing, cycling, yoga even energetically cleaning your house will help to burn off the stress. Find an exercise that works for you and keep at it.

This has the added benefit of strengthening your back. Too often when your back hurts the automatic response is to rest, but staying mobile with gentle exercise will help prevent stiffness and gives you greater support.

Eat Well and Control that Cortisol
The stress hormone cortisol plays havoc with your eating habits. It releases more sugar and fat into your bloodstream, meaning you burn off energy faster and need to eat sooner. It also suppresses your immune system, which will make you more susceptible to coughs and colds.

By keeping to regular meal times and ensuring that you eat nutritious foods – lots of lovely fruit and veg – you can minimise the impact of cortisol.

Regulating your food intake will bring your blood sugar levels back in line. Eating vitamin-packed foods will help you to replenish your immune system. It's tough when all you want to do is give in to chocolate but stay firm and stay in control.

Take Control of Your Life
One of the root causes of stress is often a feeling of helplessness. If you've lost your job, been bereaved or are suffering financial difficulties it may feel that you don’t have any control over your life.

While you can't take control of everything that happens to you, you can manage your response to it.

Taking steps such as asking for help through a difficult time can be empowering. Learning the skills of time management may help you to face frantic times in your life. Even seeking out assertiveness training if you struggle to stand up for yourself and say “no” can have a major impact on your wellbeing.

Learn Ways to Cope with Stress and Pain
Following the previous steps should help you to prevent stress in the first place, but you will never be able to totally free yourself of it. That's why you need to find ways to manage your stress, and any subsequent pain that comes from it.

Deep breathing exercises, hot baths and massage are all relaxing treatments that can also benefit your back. Taking the time to step back from your stress and laugh at a funny movie can help you regain perspective. Seeing friends may be what it takes to see you through.

Back pain in itself can be a cause of stress for you, so you need to know how to calm yourself down. It may take time and effort. You may need to try several methods before you find the best one for you, but ultimately if you feel happier and hurt less, isn’t that worth taking the time to do?

Paul Jaggard is the owner of Get Back Supplies, a UK supplier of ergonomic office chairs that help to ease back pain for workers.