I’m certain everyone has some level of stress in their life, either from work or personal life. Short term stress is normal, but stress that has been ongoing can have a negative effect on our well-being. Most of us just take the stress and when we are tired, we just drink more coffee to stay alert and maybe sleep in on the weekends.
But after a while our bodies begin to suffer mentally and physically. We become tired all the time, irritable, and developed tension and pain. People let it go on for a while until it becomes chronic, THEN they decide to go see someone to help with the pain.
That’s when people decide to come and see us. Sometimes it has gone on for years. The reason why this topic is so important is because a very large amount of people we see have chronic pain that can be traced back to mental stress and I want to bring awareness to this issue and describe ways to prevent it from building up.
Stress increases levels of the hormone cortisol in the body which then increases muscle tension. It is common to have large amounts of tension within the abdomen, neck and head muscles.
The abdomen tension disturbs proper breathing which leads to the jaw, head and neck tension which can cause headaches. The abdomen tension can also cause low back pain and can also affect digestion.
The first step is to identify the specific muscles with the tension. It’s also important to identify the cause of the stress. Some people may need to see a psychologist to work out complicated issues, but once the cause or likely cause is identified, that’s a big step in beginning the healing process.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me.