McHenry Back Muscles Relax with Happy Emotions
Emotions influence our mind and body reactions. Happy emotions produce smiles. Sad emotions make us frown. These reactions are the outer reactions we usually notice. What about other emotional, inner reactions? Researchers are studying these. A recent study about emotions and back muscle reactions captured the attention of OrthoIllinois Chiropractic who cares for many McHenry back pain sufferers. It’s a reminder to look at 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, tired? We’ve all seen this. Upright posture does so much to increase positivity and reduce fatigue and anxiety. (1) Body posture may well impact emotional reactions! In an interesting twist in this story of the relationship between muscular states and emotions, researchers found that upright seated postures are advantageous. Upright seated posture in constrast to a slumped seated posture was found to raise self-esteem, arousal, and mood as well as reduce fear. Linguists noted that slumped posture people spoke with 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 keep self-esteem in check, decrease focus on self, decrease negative mood and create a positive mood. Speech rate rose, too. Sitting upright may be just the way to build resilience to stress. (2) OrthoIllinois Chiropractic notices firsthand how emotions affect McHenry chiropractic patients, particularly McHenry back pain patients who are stressed and down.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AFFECT BACK MUSCLES
For back pain sufferers – who are surely not immune to a down mood! – body responses like slumping are not uncommon. In an electromyographic study of back muscles, it was found that negative emotions raised differential back muscle activity while positive emotions did not. The muscles were undisturbed, not having to react at all. (3) While healing, the spine of the back pain sufferer doesn’t need any extra stimuli. OrthoIllinois Chiropractic offers gentle McHenry chiropractic spinal manipulation via Cox® Technic to relax its muscles and reduce its pain.
CONTACT OrthoIllinois 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.
Schedule your McHenry chiropractic appointment now. If stress or emotions compel you to slump and aggravate your back pain, OrthoIllinois Chiropractic is here to lessen the pain, remind you to sit up straight (like your parents used to tell you!), and find a way to make you smile!
