As last week was the Back Pain Awareness Week, we though it would be a good idea to investigate the link between Stress and Back Pain.
For a lot of individuals, it is very common to link their level of stress and their back tensions. A matter of fact well summarized by the French expression «j’en ai plein le dos».
This very popular expression is used by the French when they are stressed and tired, and can be translated in «my back cannot take any more» or «my back is full». Having a full back is the perfect expression to illustrate how much our emotions are associated with the functioning of our body. The weight of certain emotions or certain problems is so important that it makes the body heavier, tensed … especially the back which quite often becomes the receptacle of these inner tensions.
This expression certainly trace its roots to the time people were lifting and carrying goods on their back, it is used nowadays by people to comment on their level of stress and tiredness.
While keeping this common expression in mind, it is very tempting to link Stress and Back pain.
Numerous studies have been done over the years to highlight this, and some have achieved achieve over the last few years. Below are some examples of links between Stress and Back Pain :
The Psychogenic Pain, where your emotional status will have a direct influence in the appearance of the following symptoms : back pain, headaches, muscles pain…
Another example of the stress resulting in physical impact is the possibility for the spinal intradiscogenic pressure to increase up to 7 times.
When it comes to the workplace, there are many reasons why stress can occur, but in this post, we will just concentrate on the case of Agile Working (flex-office, hot desking….)
While this new way of working is beneficial in many aspects, the incapacity to secure a desk (not to mention the right desk), the lack of knowledge on work-space furniture (and how to adjust them), the possibility to use inadequate equipment… will have an impact on the collaborator’s Stress level, his health and ultimately his levels of Engagement and productivity.
So, from a company perspective, it is always worth remembering that any staff member who is not able to perform at 100% will ultimately have an impact on the company bottom line.
This is why when you take action to reduce the Stress in your workplace, you are taking action to save your company unnecessary costs, and your Back’s (health) collaborators will always say “Thank You”
If you want to hear more on how technology can help you reduce stress in the workplace, please feel free to get in touch.