Is The Weight of the World on Your Shoulders? How Stress Changes Your Posture

All of us experience stress, whether from work, finances, family challenges, or life obstacles. Our bodies respond to stress by tensing up, causing stress-related back pain, vertebral subluxations, pinched nerves, and a tight, inflexible posture.

This stress- and pain-induced posture becomes a daily habit, making it difficult to return to a healthy, relaxed, and flexible posture. Some of our muscle groups remain tight, and others lengthen, which makes supporting the spine more and more difficult. Stress compresses our posture, and the pressure impedes healthy bodily functions.1

How Does Stress Affect the Body?

Some of the documented impacts of stress on the body include:2
 

• Depression and fatigue
• Anxiety and insomnia
• High blood pressure and heart disease
• Tension headaches and migraines
• Posture changes and inflexibility
• Neck and upper back pain
• Tension in the vertebrae, joints, and muscles
• Jaw clenching and damage to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ)
• Increased sensitivity to all types of pain
  

The Cycle of Stress and Poor Posture

Sitting slouched over or curled up causes shallow breathing, which, in turn, requires faster breathing to take in enough oxygen. The heart responds by speeding up to provide more blood flow to transport the oxygen. Our bad posture causes stress levels to increase.3
 
Back and neck pain result from this poor posture, and the experience of chronic pain changes hormone levels, affects mood, and intensifies stress. Breaking this cycle requires attention to posture, relaxation techniques, back pain treatment, and good spinal hygiene.
 
Simply adopting a posture with open shoulders and a straight spine was shown to cause a 25% decrease in cortisol levels. High cortisol levels are associated with stress and weight gain. Slouching caused a 15% increase in cortisol, so, just as stress impacts posture, improving posture reduces stress.4

The Positive Effects of Proper Posture

Some of the benefits of restoring healthy posture include:
 

• Enhancing mood and increasing energy5
• Normalizing hormone levels
• Improving circulation
• Reducing stress on the heart and other organs
• Removing pressure on pinched nerves
• Allowing full, deep breathing
• Relieving tension in the neck and spine
• Providing stress-related back pain relief
• Relaxing muscles and soft tissues
• Restoring flexibility and range of motion
  

Releasing the Tension and Lifting the Weight

Our posture is influenced by more than the way we sit and stand. In fact, the ways we sit, stand, and lie down are impacted by a variety of physical, biochemical, and emotional factors. Finding a way to improve posture can help relieve stress, and finding ways to relieve stress will help us restore a healthy posture.
 
At McCann Family Chiropractic, we offer more than just back pain treatment. We make it our mission to help our patients restore a healthy posture by relieving the physical pain and tension while offering relaxation massage and other therapies to lift the mental weight from your shoulders.
 
Through regular chiropractic care, exercises, stretching, and therapeutic massage, you can reduce the effects of stress on your posture and your health. To find out more about relieving stress and improving posture, reach out to us today for a lighter, more flexible tomorrow.
 
Source:

1. American Chiropractic Association. "Maintaining Good Posture." ACA Today. September 13, 2017. https://acatoday.org/content/posture-power-how-to-correct-your-body-alignment.
2. DeMarco, Jacqueline. "How Your Posture Is Affecting Your Physical and Mental Health." The Everygurl. February 28, 2016. http://theeverygirl.com/how-your-posture-is-affecting-your-physical-and-mental-health/.
3. Nair, S., M. Sagar, J. Sollers 3rd, N. Consedine, and E. Broadbent. "Do Slumped and Upright Postures Affect Stress Responses? A Randomized Trial." PubMed.gov. September 14, 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25222091.
   
4. Cuddy, Amy J.C., Caroline A. Wilmuth, and Dana R. Carney. "The Benefit of Power Posing Before a High-Stakes Social Evaluation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-027, September 2012. http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:9547823
5. Robinson, Ian H., PhD. "Can Your Posture Make You Feel in Control and Less Stressed?" Psychology Today. June 19, 2013. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-winner-effect/201306/can-your-posture-make-you-feel-in-control-and-less-stressed.