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Older man holding his back in pain.

Is Stress Causing Your Back Pain?

Every day, we see patients in the practice who are stressed. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or chemical stress building up in your body, one thing is certain: too much of it isn’t helping your chronic or acute pain. In fact, it could be making it worse.


Stress and pain go hand in hand. When you’re dealing with pain, a certain level of anxiety typically pops up surrounding the injury. When it’s not addressed, pain continues and so does stress. As more pain and more stress builds in the body, it can begin to affect your daily life and activities.

Here’s a deeper look at the cycle of pain:

Phase 1: You become limited in certain functions of day-to-day life and leisure activities.
Phase 2: Fear builds surrounding the decrease in activities
Phase 3: Limitations and less movement can lead to weakened muscles, ultimately causing more pain. This can start the cycle over.

To break the cycle and limit the stress you’re experiencing, try these things:

1. Fuel your body with food that nourishes from the inside out. This means eating whole grains, healthy fats, and limiting sugar and excess carbohydrates.

2. Do some form of exercise for at least 30 minutes each day (unless you’re in severe pain). Exercise lowers the stress hormones in your body over time, and may improve your quality of sleep.

3. Visit us. We’re here to help address this very concern and have the necessary knowledge and tools to restore function and wellness to your spine.

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