Emotions influence our mind and body reactions. Happy emotions produce smiles. Sad emotions make us frown. These reactions are
the outer reactions we most commonly notice. What
about other emotional, inside reactions? Researchers are examining
these. A recent study regarding emotions and back muscle
reactions caught the attention of Apple Country Chiropractic who
cares for many Williamson back pain sufferers. It is a
reminder to consider the whole person - mind and body! – and to
sit up straight.
EMOTIONS AFFECT POSTURE
When someone is depressed or just in a down mood,
what does their body usually look like? Slumped forward,
eyes to the ground, fatigued? We’ve all seen this.
Upright posture does so much to improve positivity and decrease
fatigue and anxiety. (1) Body posture may well influence emotional
reactions! In an interesting twist
in this story of the relationship between muscular states and emotions,
researchers found that upright seated postures are beneficial.
Upright seated posture as opposed to a slumped seated
posture was noted to improve self-esteem, arousal, and
mood as well as decrease fear. Linguists found that
slumped posture people used more negative emotion words and fewer words than upright posture
people. They therefore recommended in their study to sit
upright when facing a stressful situation as it can maintain
self-esteem, lessen focus
on self, decrease negative mood and generate
a positive mood. Speech rate improved, too. Sitting
upright may be just the way to foster
resilience to stress. (2) Apple Country Chiropractic sees firsthand how
emotions impact Williamson chiropractic patients, especially
Williamson
back pain patients who are stressed and sad.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AFFECT BACK MUSCLES
For back pain sufferers – who are surely not
immune to a down mood! – physical responses like slumping
are not unusual. In a study of back muscles using electromyography found that
negative emotions raised differential back muscle activity
while positive emotions did not. The muscles were left
alone, not having to react at all. (3) When healing, the spine of the back pain sufferer doesn’t
need any more stimuli. Apple Country Chiropractic offers gentle Williamson
chiropractic spinal manipulation via Cox®
Technic to calm its muscles and lessen its pain.
CONTACT Apple Country Chiropractic
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he describes the
benefits of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management benefits aback
pain patient’s spine, muscle, and system.
Set up your Williamson
chiropractic appointment soon. If stress or emotions compel you
to slump and aggravate your back pain,
Apple Country Chiropractic is here to ease the pain, remind you
to sit up straight (like your parents used to tell you!), and get you to smile!