Emotions impact the way the mind and body
react. Happy emotions produce smiles. Sad emotions produce frowns. These reactions are
the outer reactions we most commonly observe. What
about other emotional, inner reactions? Researchers are studying
these. A new study regarding emotions and back muscle
reactions caught the eye of Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC who
cares for many La Grande back pain sufferers. It is a
reminder to look at the whole person - mind and body! – and to
sit upright.
EMOTIONS AFFECT POSTURE
When someone is depressed or just in a sad mood,
what does their body usually look like? Slumped forward,
eyes to the ground, fatigued? We have all seen this.
Upright posture does so much to increase positivity and decrease
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 noted to raise self-esteem, arousal, and
mood as well as decrease fear. Linguists found that
slumped posture people spoke with fewer and more negative emotion
words than upright posture
people. They therefore suggested in their study to sit
upright when in a stressful situation as it can maintain
self-esteem, decrease self-focus, lower negative mood and create
a positive mood. Speech rate improved, too. Sitting
upright may be just the way to build
resilience to stress. (2) Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC notices firsthand how
emotions affect La Grande chiropractic patients, especially
La Grande
back pain patients who are stressed and down.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS AFFECT BACK MUSCLES
For back pain sufferers – who are certainly not
immune to a sad mood! – physical responses like slumping
are not unusual. In a study of back muscles using electromyography found that
negative emotions increased differential back muscle activity
while positive emotions didn’t. The muscles were left
alone, not having to react at all. (3) When healing, the back pain
sufferer’s spine doesn’t
need any more stimuli. Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC offers gentle La Grande
chiropractic spinal manipulation in the form of Cox®
Technic to calm its muscles and lessen its pain.
CONTACT Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC
Listen to this PODCAST
with Dr. James Cox on The Back
Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the
benefits of the Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management benefits aback
pain patient’s spine, muscle, and system.
Make your La Grande
chiropractic appointment now. If stress or emotions compel you
to slump and aggravate your back pain,
Paulette Hugulet, DC, LLC is here to ease the pain, remind you
to sit up straight (like your parents used to say!), and get you to smile!