December 2006

I have low back and neck pain but it seems to increase during the holiday season and with stress.  Is muscle pain and stress related?

It is very common to have headaches, low back, neck, and shoulder pain when stress increases.  Stress occurs when we are in situations that we feel we have little control over.  These are times when we have busy and/or dealing with situations or problems.  We sleep less, eat more, don’t exercise, don’t take time to relax and muscles get tense and tight.  This decreases the body’s ability to heel itself from day to day activities, and we start to notice pain.  The first thing that you need to do is take time out for yourself, get 8 hours of sleep, eat right, and participate in any physical activity that you enjoy.  Once the stress decreases, we assume the pain will go away. However the body’s muscles have adapted in being tight and many times the pain does not go away.  If the pain is not going away, you need to come to Sport & Spine so we can show you ways to take care of yourself for a pain-free life.