Category: Spine | Author: Stefano Sinicropi
Nobody likes feeling stressed out, but we encounter stressful situations every day in life. If we know how to appropriately handle these stressful situations, we can actually be better off because of it. However, if we struggle to manage stress in a healthy way, it can have unintended consequences. One such consequence is worsening spine health.
But how are stress and your spine health connected? In today’s blog, we take a closer look at this dynamic and explain why managing stress in a healthy way is so important for your spine.
How Stress Can Hurt Your Spine
Mental and emotional stress can have a larger physical impact on our body than most people realize. Some of the ways your spine can be physically impacted by unmanaged mental and emotional stress include:
- Posture Problems – When you’re stressed, you may be more likely to slouch or hunch down in your seat. Your brain is uncomfortable, and your body can follow suit, moving and shifting your spine out of a healthy alignment. If you’re stressed at your desk job or you’re taking a test at school, make it a point to maintain a healthy spinal alignment.
- Muscle Tension – When we’re stressed, our muscles naturally tense up a bit as our brain’s fight or flight response is engaged. Prolonged muscle tension can lead to muscle weakness, soreness and discomfort. Oftentimes this muscle tension occurs in your spine and neck, which can lead to back pain or headaches.
- Poor Sleep Habits – As we’ve mentioned many times on this blog, sleep is a restorative process that allows our body to recover from the rigors of the day and remove waste products that could serve to trigger an inflammatory response. Unmanaged stress can make it harder for you to fall asleep and stay asleep, interrupting this crucial recovery period.
- Weight Gain – When we’re stressed, we sometimes gravitate towards comfort, and sometimes people find this comfort in food. Stress eating is a real problem for countless Americans, and unhealthy eating habits can lead to weight gain. This extra weight will be felt by your spine when you stand and move, in turn speeding up natural spinal degeneration and exacerbating other underlying back pain issues.
- Inflammation – When you’re stressed, your adrenal glands produce higher levels of cortisol as part of the body’s fight or flight response. However, chronically elevated cortisol levels can lead to spinal inflammation, spinal muscle weakness, fatigue and high blood pressure. Managing your stress levels to keep cortisol production in check isn’t just important for your spine, it’s necessary for your whole body.
We challenge you to find healthy ways to confront and manage stress. One of the best ways to manage stress is through an exercise program, which is wonderful for your whole body health. Exercise triggers the brain to release endorphins that can help regulate cortisol levels and keep stress at bay, so really work on finding an exercise program or a physically-active activity that you enjoy that you can throw yourself into when you’re feeling a bit stressed. Other proven stress management techniques include:
- Yoga
- Deep breathing exercises
- Meditation
Challenge yourself to learn more about what’s causing you to feel stressed and make a plan to confront this stress in healthier ways. If you’re stressed about a test, make it a point to study each night. If you’re stressed because you’re always running late, prioritize improving your time management skills. Self-assess how you can become better at handling stress, and your spine and body will thank you for it!
For help overcoming any back pain issues that may be causing you stress, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
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