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Can Stress Actually Affect Your Spine?
Dr. Don Parkerson, Jr.
One of my childhood memories was watching the TV show
Sanford & Son. At some point during each
episode, Fred Sanford would clutch his chest and exclaim that he was having
“the big one” upon receiving a particularly stressful bit of information from
Lamont or Aunt Esther. It’s always been
easy to link stress with heart attacks or high blood pressure, but what about
the spine? Can stress create a similar
type of health problem in the spine?
Could losing your job cause neck pain?
Could the loss of a spouse lead to a herniated disc?
As we examine the effects of stress on the spine, it
is essential that we address one issue beforehand. When I mention the effects of stress to
patients, I often get a puzzled look followed by, “do you think I’m a
hypochondriac?” Let me be crystal clear
that having stress-induced spinal problems has nothing to do with being a
hypochondriac. Hypochondriacs report
health problems that doctors cannot verify through objective physical
findings. I am referring to spinal
problems that can be scientifically measured via leg length measurement, x-ray
analysis, neck palpation, posture analysis, and infrared thermal scanning.
The
The CDC estimates that roughly 90% of
all doctor’s visits in
It’s no secret that the holiday season creates an
inordinate amount of stress for Americans.
Whether it’s feeding twenty relatives for Thanksgiving, or being able to
buy all the right Christmas presents, stress levels increase as those big days
get closer. If you don’t believe me, go
to a Publix on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, or a mall on Christmas
Eve. Witness for yourself the epitome of
stress.
For the last eight holiday seasons, I have curiously
watched our patient flow during the days preceding both Thanksgiving and
Christmas. While many health clinics are
preparing to shut down for the holidays, our phones start ringing with patients
needing to be adjusted. The three days
preceding Thanksgiving are a particularly robust time for us, as is the
Saturday after Thanksgiving. In fact,
the highest number of patients that Dr. Humber and I ever saw in a single day
was the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 1999.
Why?
The same typically applies to the weeks before
Christmas, whereby we see more mothers having headaches and more fathers with
lower back pain. Now, here is the most
important part of the “Holiday Effect” theory.
Each of these presumably stressed patients presents with objective signs
of spinal misalignment, i.e. functionally short leg, palpable muscle spasms in
the neck, and postural distortions. In
other words, the increased mental stress during the holidays has manifested as
actual physical signs and symptoms that can be observed and even measured. I realize that is not irrefutable scientific
evidence, but I’ve seen it with my own eyes for eight years now and fully
expect to see it again this fall.
How Could This Happen?
My anecdotal evidence may be interesting, but we need
to define a more specific means of how a mental process can cause actual
physical changes in the spine. One
explanation could be that our bodies translate our stress into muscle
contraction. Stay with me because this
may get a little technical.
Take a look at the picture to the right. The area marked by red is the trapezius
muscle. Your trapezius runs from the
base of your skull, out to the tips of your shoulder blades, and all the way
down to the small of your back. It is
very involved in the movements of the head and neck, as well as your
posture. Neurologically, the trapezius
is unlike most other muscles in that the nerves that control it come directly
out of the brainstem. This is very important
in understanding the mind-body connection that occurs with the trapezius.
When the brain processes stress, the trapezius reacts
by contracting its muscle fibers. This
results in involuntary muscle spasms, or trigger points, as they’re sometimes
called. Perhaps, you’ve felt the rigid
shoulders of someone who’s tense. This
level of constant tension and spasm in the trapezius muscle creates a pulling
effect on the neck and mid-back, which causes imbalances in your spinal
alignment. In Southern-ese terms, it
gets you out of adjustment.
Along those same lines, patients under stress may not
“hold” their adjustments as well as they normally would. A patient who may typically go three months
between adjustments might need to get adjusted weekly during a stressful time.
Now What?
Now that we’ve presented our case that stress can
indeed affect your spine, what is the sensible patient to do? A wise, older patient of mine once told me
that the only people who have no stress are six feet under. I tend to agree with her, so we better figure
out ways to manage our stresses. Here
are a few suggestions:
1.
Prayer – my personal favorite. Even the Annals of Internal Medicine has
documented that patients who practice prayer or laying
on of hands benefit from it. (1)
2.
Meditation – not to be confused with prayer. Meditation uses relaxation techniques to
quiet the mind. The American Journal of
Psychiatry states that meditation reduces anxiety and panic. (2) Yoga and deep breathing exercises
have also been proven effective in reducing stress.
3.
Exercise – countless studies have shown that aerobic exercise
reduces stress. This one is really a
no-brainer! Even a short brisk walk can
relieve bouts of stress.
4.
Sleep – do you ever lay awake at night worrying about the
next day? The average person needs 7 to
8 hours of quality sleep per night, which allows your body’s organs to
recuperate from the previous day.
5.
Eat
well – hunger may cause your blood sugar
to drop, which triggers anxiety and fatigue. (3)
6.
Massage
therapy – massage has been shown to
decrease the heart rate and relax the muscles of the body.
7.
Be
realistic about your problems – an old
proverb states that if all of our misfortunes were gathered in one common heap,
most people would be content to take their own and depart.
8.
Make
a list – identify the sources of your
stress and come up with solutions to deal with each one individually.
9.
Take
a vacation – if even for a day, take a
break and separate yourself from your daily stresses. You will perceive them differently when you
return.
10. Laughter – Proverbs 17:22 states “A merry heart doeth good like a
medicine.” Research has shown that humor
is a very effective mechanism for dealing with stress, and that laughter
reduces stress hormone levels and increases immune system antibodies. The writer Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is
an antidote to apprehension and panic.”
Tell a joke, watch a funny movie, or even laugh at yourself.
Make
it a great month!
References:
1.
Annals of Internal Medicine, 2000.
2.
American Journal of Psychiatry, 1992.
3.
Dr. Joseph Mercola, 5 Simple
Strategies to Reduce Stress and Eliminate Exhaustion
For further information on this topic, you may contact Dr. Parkerson at
770.952.5353, by email at Parkerson@humberparkerson.com,
or visit our clinic on the web at www.HumberParkerson.com.
The Highest Level is the monthly e-mail newsletter of the
© Humber Parkerson
Clinic 2005
August
2005 issue of The Highest Level
