05 Jun Putting Stress On Your Back
Did you know that you can experience physical problems in your back due to stress? Improper nutrition can hurt your health and impact how strong your body is. What is the part of the body that carries the most weight? Your back and spine! Stress can cause physical ailments in the back and spine that manifest in the form of trigger-points and knots, aches and pains, headaches and migraines, weakness and more. We treat many symptoms and conditions and have found that stress is a factor in many of the cases we see. At Mile High Spine & Pain Center, we can customize a plan to eliminate your symptoms and help you feel better!
Stressing Over Statistics
According to the American Psychological Association, stress causes about 40% of the population of the U.S. to overeat or eat unhealthy foods that lead to weight gain. Most of that food is generally not nutritious, which can lead to diabetes and other chronic diseases. 77% of people report physical symptoms stemming from the effects of stress. What causes most of that this tension? Money, work and family responsibilities are the top three causes according to the American Psychological Association. The American Institute of Stress reports that about 1 in 5 Americans experience extreme stress on a regular basis, which literally causes problems to manifest such as shaking, heart palpitations, depression, anxiety, illness and more. It has even been found to cause strokes, and work-related problems lead to about 10% of stroke cases on record. Stress can be linked to an estimated 60% of cases that involve human illness and disease and plays a factor anywhere between 25%-50% of all heart disease, heart attack and stroke cases.
Find the Cause
Many people don’t know what stress can do the body. A little stress is always good to help get us motivated to work and accomplish tasks, but when pressure hits levels where it can physically damage the body, something must be done. If you’ve reached the point where you have unexplained pain or body aches, lack of sleep, fatigue, dizziness, unexplained illness and more, it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty and see what’s stressing you out. The best way to stay healthy is to find the cause and stop it.
What You Experience
What can be done for all the stress that’s so prevalent in the world? As stress is generally a constant side effect of living, we can’t eliminate every bit of it from your life. However, we can help when it’s causing you physical ailments, pain and chronic conditions. Here are some of the most common symptoms we see in our patients:
- Headaches/Migraines
- Fatigue/Chronic Fatigue
- Dizziness
- Numbness/Tingling
- Neck/Back Pain
Find Soothing Relief through Therapies
Many of these symptoms can stem from chronic diseases that we mentioned (such as heart disease or diabetes). There are several factors that play a role in developing a chronic illness, but stress always tends to play a part. How do we combat it? Trigger-point therapy is just one example of a treatment we can employ to find areas of tension in your body. Relieving that tension will lead to a back free of pain and irritation, plus a happier you. When you become overwhelmed or injured, your back and neck can be filled with tight knots of tension that eventually cause neuropathy problems such as numbness and tingling, pain in various places of the body (especially the back and neck) headaches, lower range of motion and more. Many people hold all their tension physically through trigger points in the body.
Because trigger points can develop so easily, we have a therapy designed specifically to rid the body of trigger points and sooth your muscles. When one of your knots are activated, they tense up and can compress nerves and lead to neuropathy symptoms and pain. You might feel increased tension in your back, especially if you have many stressful events going on in life. Other causes include traumatic events, infections, sports injuries or car accidents, trauma from strains, tears, breaks, and even lifestyle choices such as smoking. We employ the use of the following therapies to rid you of trigger points:
- Massage therapy to find trigger points and work out the knots
- Vibration exercises to relax tensed muscles and release tension (used in conjunction with massage)
- Myotherapy involving deep-tissue massage or tapping
- Electrostimulation to relax muscles, speed healing to sites of tension and stimulate circulation
- Assisted stretching regimens to improve muscle tone and decrease the formation of trigger points
- Injections to help break down scar tissue, heal muscle and relieve inflammation and pain
Trigger-point therapy is just one therapy we employ to combat your symptoms. Our office has many professionals all skilled in different areas of therapies and treatments to combat your ailment no matter what it is. If you know you struggle with stress on a daily basis, or with unexplained inflammation, pain and tension that doesn’t have a clear cause, we may be able to find the reason and provide effective treatments. Call our Mile HIgh Spine & Pain Center today at (720) 507-0080 and feel better today!