Just as not all of us are at the same risk of lower back pain, not all of us face the same level of susceptibility at all times. Factors from weather conditions to turbulent emotions have an affect, as do sleeping patterns and hectic work seasons. Preparing ourselves for those higher risk situations can reduce their impact and the pain that comes with it – or even prevent an injury or pain from happening altogether.

When We’re Under Stress

When you feel as though you are “carrying the world on your shoulders,” your body might be responding as though you literally are. Emotional stress can lead to physical tension. Your muscles clench and spasm, your posture changes, and your shoulders tighten to bear that heavy load.

Emotional factors can be found at the root of both chronic and acute aches. Even positive life events or changes can be to blame – back trouble can be prompted by the tension that, say, an upcoming wedding or job change brings along.

Emotional stress impacts the body in two main ways: by its physical effect on our body, which can cause pain directly or leave us more susceptible to other injuries; and by its effect on our actions, which tend to be less carefully undertaken, and more likely to bring about harm.

Stress can make us sick. There is evidence of its role in gastrointestinal, dermatological, respiratory, and neurologic ills, as well as a wide range of infections and immune system disorders – from the common cold and herpes to arthritis and cancer. Headaches, chest pain, shortness of breath, rashes, high blood pressure, indigestion, and insomnia are just some of the results.

The musculoskeletal system is not exempt. Stress has been linked to muscle aches and weakening, arthritis and bone loss, and even higher levels of fat deposits in the body, especially around the abdomen, taxing the spine.

And if that’s not enough, there is no question that stress can harm us via the self-destructive behaviors it can provoke. Smoking, drinking, substance abuse, bad diet, and lack of exercise are direct links to ill health associated with stress. And we are likely to drive faster, and dumber, when stressed, increasing the chances of having an accident.

Stress can make pain feel worse and last longer, as well. The Vermont Back Research Center at the University of Vermont in Burlington looked at a variety of anxiety provokers such as stressful marriage, job dissatisfaction, and trouble getting along with co-workers. “People who recovered from back injuries who had less of those stressors in their life tended not to have chronic pain,” says Rebecca Mueller, M.A., who notes that such factors are a large part of the back pain literature today.

“Psychosocial variables are being looked at to find out which is the chicken and the egg.”

“The stress relief component of back pain is the most ignored,” says physiatrist Richard Materson, M.D., who levels a good part of the blame at doctors who don’t spend enough time with patients to get an idea of their mental state. “If you go see a doctor who has roughly ten minutes to see you, you don’t have a relationship that makes you very willing to expose yourself emotionally to that person.” And all too often, the doctor might not even ask you to try.

Here are some tips for handling immediate stress:

Cool down. The person who has the facet joint problem who doesn’t experience pain when they’re cool and calm, but feels it when they’re mad at the boss might find that learning to get cool may in essence do more for his back pain than fixing the joint.

Take some deep breaths. Breathe in and out deeply to send nourishing oxygen through the system and relax tensed muscles.

Change your focus. Turn your gaze from what’s troubling you for a while; when you return, you’ll often find you have a different perspective.

Talk it out. Find a friend and unburden yourself. A lighter load is easier to handle.

Take a brisk walk. Physical activity not only serves as a healthy diversion but brings about hormonal changes that physically fight stress.

There are lots of different exercises for lower back pain, but according to a recent survey of back pain sufferers, a lot of exercises suggested by doctors either simply didn’t help with any noticeable back pain relief at all, or actually made matters worse. Discover which exercises will help relieve your pain and help prevent it from occurring again.

Exercise is very good for you, as as I’m sure you appreciate, but it’s particularly good for you for middle back pain relief, if you follow a few easy guidelines, and do the low impact routines. Here’s a list of simple and effective exercises that can help relieve back pain and offer up some much needed chronic back pain relief:

Shift and lift: The “shift and lift” is an easy exercise that really can tone up the muscles around your lower back and buttocks (in particular) while sitting at your desk. Even though this is something that you can practice while sat at your desk, owing to the nature of the ‘lifting’ part of the exercise, I would suggest that you don’t do this while there’s other people too close to you, for example. It might make them think there is something wrong with you!

All The Same, this is a very effective exercise for helping stop your muscles stiffening up that could result from sitting still for an extended period of time, and it strengthens those muscles too!

You start by sitting in your chair, relax then clench one buttock and hold for 3 to 5 seconds, lifting slightly at the same time. Relax and rest for 1 or 2 seconds and then repeat. Do this 15-20 repetitions for each buttock.

Hip sway: This is helpful exercise to do if you have to stand up for an extended period of time, as it alleviates the stress in your lower back, legs and hips and invigorates the blood flow throughout the whole of your lower body. It also reduces or even eliminates back and hip pain that many individuals are affected by if they have to stand for a long time.

Start from a standing position, let you right knee relax totally, and at the same time pushing your left hip out to the side. Pull the hip back in again, and repeat the same action 15-20 times. After that, let you left knee completely relax, and drive your right hip out in the same fashion.

Lifting: This exercise needs a bag – a supermarket shopping bag, or anything else with extended handles for lifting will be fine. Place something of weight in the bag – again, it is fairly irrelevant exactly what it is, providing it easily weighs a couple of kilos (water bottles are just right for this, as a liter bottle of water weighs pretty much a kilo).

Start with your arm straight down the side of your body, bend your knees until the bag touches the ground and then lift it by straightening your knees up. Lift until your legs are once again straight, hold the standing position for a few seconds, and then bend your legs until the bag touches down again.

Repeat this for at least 15 times with the bag on one side of your body, and then repeat on the other side. By making sure you bend your legs and not you back – this is a great exercise for strengthening the middle and lower back, buttocks and hips, and will also work wonders on your thighs, arms and shoulders.

Give us a shrug: This is a really easy exercise that together with making your lower back in great shape, it is also a quick option for freeing the tension that builds around your neck and across the back of your shoulders. As an added benefit, this exercise is also great for working your shoulders and arm muscles. It can also be done in either a standing or a sitting position.

Doing the exercise is really easy, just shrug your shoulders all the way up to your ears (or at least as far as you can), then extend your arms sideways from your body until they are parallel to the ground and turn your palms so that they are facing outwards. Lastly, lean your head to the side to touch your shoulder then hold for a few seconds. Return to the beginning and do the whole thing again, but this time, tilt your head to the opposite side.