Stress and Pain are Connected
Updated: Sep 28, 2022
Has it ever seemed to you that your level of stress and pain are connected? A lot of research has been done on the mind body connection. We know that our emotions are controlled by our nervous systems. Our nervous systems also greatly affect and are affected by the health of our spines. Stress and pain are linked in your body. There are lots of natural ways to improve stress, depression and anxiety.
Your mood causes a chemical release that impacts how you perceive your body’s pain levels. If you are anxious, pain becomes worse. If your pain becomes worse, you get more anxious. It’s a vicious cycle and works similarly with depression.
Overcoming the connection between stress and pain is critical to your health. Consistently it’s been shown that the most effective mood booster, depression destroyer, anxiety fighter and pain inhibitor is exercise. The more you move your body, the better your body feels. Here is a great article from the Washington Post on stress and pain.
That isn’t to say if you are having back spasms you should go to the gym and do dead lifts or run five miles. The key to making exercise work for you is to meet your body where it is at and respect your injuries while still finding ways to keep moving. Perhaps if you have been focusing on big time muscle building for the last year and your body hurts, now is the time to focus on your cardiovascular health and pick up running or cycling. If you’ve been a life long runner and your body can no longer take the impact, consider starting a core strengthening routine with weights and Pilates and dial back the running.
One of the keys to maintaining an exercise program is to deal with injuries when they are small so they don’t keep you from working out. That is where regular adjustments with a chiropractor become critical to your health. Chiropractic will keep your body functioning as it should so that you can participate in your workout as you wish. You have a choice as to whether you allow your life to be limited by pain. It is possible to find solutions and making the commitment to your health now will pay dividends in the future.
If you would like to learn more about our Plymouth chiropractic office you can here https://www.activefamilychiropractic.com If you are ready to make the leap, you can also book online at https://www.activefamilychiropractic.com/booking-calendar