Stress causes back pain! Is that true or vice versa? Research shows that about 77 percent of people often get stressed about little or big things, and about 80 percent experience back pain. And even though I am not arguing that stress and back pain are necessarily interdependent, I certainly advocate for the connection between the mind and the body. When you make them go hand-in-hand, prevention of many issues become possible, including back pain.
The Connection
Before we jump into treating our mind and body for back pain, let’s understand how back pain can start from one(body/mind) and reach the other(mind/body). Assume you have been experiencing one-sided back pain for a few weeks. If the pain is consistent (inflammation or injury caused), it disrupts your mental well-being. Stress, anxiety, and depression creep up with chronic back pain. Alternatively, a lack of stress management techniques randomly employs your body parts to cause issues like back pain, headaches, indigestion, etc.
Tips for treatment
Mind-body therapy
Practicing mindfulness and meditation leads to total awareness of the mind. It also helps us to accept our situations, do positive self-talk, and effectively manage stress due to back pain.
Psychotherapy
This therapy, also called talk therapy, helps people share their challenges and associated feelings with the therapist. Families and friends can also conduct this therapy. The therapist usually listens and gives coping techniques, and suggests how back pain treatment is dependent on stress management strategies for overall well-being, etc. Yoga, deep breathing, and relaxation are employed in the sessions to enhance positivity in the patient.
Sudarshan Kriya is an effective breathing technique that boosts your immunity, calms your mind, and strengthens your core body.
Movement powered therapy
Exercise, yoga, aerobics, Tai-chi, walking, swimming, gymming, sports, etc. helps in lower back pain treatment by strengthening our core muscles. These enhance body flexibility along with clearing the blocks in our minds.
Massage and Acupuncture
There are energy points in our bodies. Knowing the right press can help us get relief from chronic back pain and ward off stress-related issues. Massage and acupuncture help in this regard. Physiotherapy proves to be one of the most effective ways of back pain treatment.
Food choices
Our dietary choices decide the mechanics of the body afterward. Knowing about the sources of nutrients you give your body, checking calorie content, weight gain, and preferring anti-inflammatory diets helps treat your mind and body from back pain.
Letting go of addictions
Say no to the weekend alcohol binge or the smoking pipes that take away the element of self-control from you. These addictions not just elevate your inflammation levels that cause chronic back pain, but also make you unstable and take away discipline from your life.
Reminding your goals
The end goal you set for yourself is something that would drive you further in practicing the discipline. Keep seeing yourself living a pain-free, happy and satisfied life. This process will not just treat both mind and body from back pain, but will also bring you back on track even when you go astray at times.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
FAQ on mind, body, and pain management
Yes, psychological distress due to negative thinking, worry, or stress can complicate the suffering. And even acute pain with temporary symptoms may cause consistent pain in patients. The key is to control the mind.
Breathe deep
Think about positive things in life
Distract yourself from thinking about pain
Do hamstring stretching and yoga postures that help relieve the pain
De-stress yourself with a hobby
Ginger
Turmeric
Eucalyptus oil
Cloves
The root of the Valerian plant
Maybe. If you feel increased pain when you are distressed or upset, the pain has more to do with your mental health. Positive self-talk, meditation, closeness to nature, and movement-related activities could help relieve the pain.
Find an art that you love and spend some time on it. Healing with music, painting, writing, reading, etc., de-stress you while distracting you from the back pain. Do not forget to seek medical help if the pain persists.
