05/02/2023
Pain can occur for a number of reasons, and this is by no means an exhaustive list.
To get to the root of a problem we'll often ask about medical history, lifestyle etc and categorise stresses into three subsections.
✨Emotional, physical and chemical stresses.
'What are these?' you ask, well let me tell you insta/fb fam!
🤍Emotional stress
I've put this first, because it's the subsection that so often gets over looked when we talk about our health, however, the more we understand about holistic healthcare the more we know that stress, anxiety etc can be big contributors,to say for example heart health...but it is also a big contributor to musculoskeletal health.
A simple example would be the phrase when someone is stressed 'you are wearing your shoulders like earrings' - we tense up, we literally hold tension in our muscles.
Being more aware of our emotional stresses can help alleviate pain/ the perception of intensity of pain.
💪🏽Physical stress
I normally talk about this one first as in musculoskeletal world it's what's gets talked up first..'what mattress should I have?','my bag might be too heavy','I had a fall','I know my posture isn't great'
What we sometimes forget is that it's unlikely just one of these will cause pain, it's usually a few of these things building up. (Unless of course we are talking about trauma like a car accident etc)
🍩Chemical stress
This is another one that we don't see the link to musculoskeletal conditions too well.
But let's give an obvious example... 'we drink milk (calcium) for big strong bones'
You are what you eat. A healthy diet and being aware of medications we may take can contribute to a healthy lifestyle overall.
When trying to combat pain, of course see a professional for a complete assessment first,
But another thing you can do is to go through each subsection and see if there is anything you could do differently.
It could be as small as
🤍Do breathing exercises
💪🏽sit up straight for 30 seconds every hour
🍩Drink an extra glass of water every day
Because it's the small things that build up.
Make them positive things!
I'm a message/call/email away,
Dr Nutan
💚
