Could it be stress?


It’s a question that comes up often at Gillingham Chiropractic Clinic:

“Could my condition be caused by stress?” or “Could stress be making my condition worse?”

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The short answer is YES!

Many studies have shown that increased stress = increase symptoms in those with musculoskeletal disorders (disorders of bone, muscle, tendon, etc). There are many possible explanations for this, for example the way stress affects our physiology (how our body functions). For example, the hormones released when we are stressed have been shown to negatively affect the quality and function of skeletal muscle. Stress can also affect our sleep, and lack of sleep has been shown to increase our perception of pain. Or think about how stress affects your posture - your neck is more likely to be held forward, your shoulders raised and you will be more tense. This often leads to neck, shoulder and back pain, as well as headaches.


So how do we fix this?

Medical professions these days are very much aware of the role that stress has to play in our health. Nowadays we are taught the biopsychosocial model of care to help provide the best, well rounded care for patients. Breaking down the word it means:

BIO: biological = e.g. genes, nutrition, physical health, disability, disease

PSYCHO: psychology = thoughts, emotions and behaviours (e.g. self esteem, mood)

SOCIAL: environment (e.g. relationships, living situation, work/financial situation)

For example Jane may have strained her low back (bio), she is self-employed and this affects her ability to work (social) which in turn is making her feel anxious and depressed (psycho).

So how does knowing this help health care professionals? Well there is no point simply fixing the bio, if the psycho and/or social is still a problem. For example Dave has chronic headaches (bio) which are aggravated by stress (psycho) which has been brought on by the breakdown of family relationships (social). While as a chiropractor I can treat the headaches from a biological standpoint, they will keep returning if the social aspect of Dave’s life doesn’t change. For this reason healthcare professionals try to work more collaboratively; for example referring you to a counsellor/therapist, social worker, GP, etc or recommending self-care such as mindfulness, making time for hobbies, exercise, etc.

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