How chronic back pain and brain fog
are affecting your lifestyle (and happiness)
When you suffer from ongoing or chronic back pain it can greatly impact your lifestyle and happiness. From an inability to move without discomfort to how you perform mentally or even show up in relationships, back pain could be at the root of your brain fog or even your bad mood.
Does this sound you?
“You wake up having not slept very well, down 2 coffees, and sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic on your way to work. You get to the office, answer a million emails, and are getting ready for a big meeting. Once you’re in the meeting, you can’t focus or think clearly because the pain is taking too much of your focus which affects your ability to perform as well as your overall mood.
Easily irritated and very reactive, you can’t process information clearly because of the high stress and chronic pain. You make your way home only to find yourself picking a fight with a loved one. You know you should cook a healthy meal but instead, you opt for ordering takeout and opening up a bottle of wine to unwind from the day. Only to wake up and do it all over again.”
If you’re like many of our patients who are looking for relief and understanding from their pain, we’ve got you covered. Check out some of out tips and tricks to manage chronic back pain and get back to living a life you love.
Back Pain + Brain Fog:
How chronic pain can diminish executive brain function
When you suffer from chronic pain, it triggers the fight or flight function of the brain. When this kind of chronic stress response occurs, the executive function part of the brain that makes decisions becomes inhibited.
That means how you make choices, how your interact with situations or loved ones, and even your overall mood are severely affected.
Existing in a constant survival state means you have less ability to plan, focus, remember, and switch between multiple tasks. Impairments of these functions are prevalent when there is chronic pain and can have catastrophic effects on all areas of a person’s life or happiness
What to do if your back pain getting in the way
of your ability to show up fully
If you are struggling with consistent, ongoing chronic pain you should always seek the advice of a skilled professional to create a custom plan and provide professional support.
If this is something that is happening once a month, or even a few times a year, it is definitely something you can handle yourself with a few daily habits or lifestyle changes. Here are some tools we recommend to manage back pain.
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Stretching:
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Daily stretching is a great way to keep things loose in the body and create space from the daily external tensions that build up in modern life. You can quickly and easily get relief in just a few minutes.
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Need some inspiration? We have some great video tutorials that walk you through a number of different stretches.
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Bodywork:
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A more in-depth, hands-on solution that provides relief from more in-depth internal tensions that can cause back pain, bodywork is a great solution to get relief from pain above and beyond what stretching can loosen up.
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Infrared and cold plunge:
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A great solution for ongoing management and maintenance of chronic pain, this is a great way to reduce inflammation and control pain signals. Even just a quick hot/cold therapy session once a week can provide passive in-depth relaxation and improved stress response.
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Manage your stress:
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Emotional and physical pain are closely related, and persistent pain can lead to increased levels of stress. From practicing mindfulness to creating healthy habits and personal boundaries, managing your stress is a crucial part of managing chronic back pain.
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