If you are like the majority of people, you will get low back pain at some point in your life. It may be due to a fall, or a car accident, or lifting something wrong. But what about those of you who have had sudden low back pain when bending over to pick up a pencil or showering or just doing your normal daily activities? What most people don't realize is how much stress plays a role in our physical health. You may realize that stress can cause anxiety, high blood pressure, or fatigue, but did you know that it can also cause pain in the body?!
Stress from work and/or personal life as well as stress from your diet can not only weaken your immune system leaving you with less defense against colds and/or infections, but it can also make you more susceptible to pain or injury. Most of us can figure out where the stress is coming from at work or in our daily lives, but what about with our diet? Well, the 4 biggest stresses of our gut through our diet are 1) coffee, 2) pop, 3) chocolate, and 4) alcohol. When our gut gets stressed, then the rest of our body gets run down and fatigued which creates an environment where we are more prone to pain.
When a patient comes to my office complaining of low back pain that just started out of the blue with no trauma or injury ("My back just went out"), I usually address their stress level and diet. Most of the time, the person admits drinking a pot of coffee per day or a 6 pack of coke a day or just got back from a weekend of drinking a lot of alcohol or all of the above. Hey, it's the American diet, right?! If I ask further about their digestion, they usually complain of constipation or diarrhea or both. In these cases, acupuncture and chiropractic manipulation is a very effective treatment at our office, but I also try to have the patient modify their diet by drinking less pop, coffee, and/or alcohol to increase their natural healing ability. The patients that do change their diet usually notice an almost immediate improvement in their symptoms.
Next time you have sudden low back pain, or any sudden pain for that matter, think about the stress in your life and diet. If you have too much of any, try to modify things so that you give your body the best chance to heal!
Live Well.
