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Recent research on back pain

A study in Great Britain of nearly 6000 people concluded that psychological stress when in your 20s makes it more than twice as likely that one will suffer low back pain upon reaching the thirties.

368 US Army soldiers who came to a clinic complaining of low back pain were studied.  They completed a questionnaire about their work habits and their health.  Job stress was linked to emotional stress and this was directly related to their clinic visit complaining of back pain. The greater the emotional distress felt by the soldier, the more visits that were required to relieve his back pain.  The Army researchers conclude that job stress plays an important role in persistent low back pain and that reducing the stress can also reduce the pain.

Recently, a study of more than 48,000 men in the Swedish Army showed the link between back problems and the ability to cope with stress.  The researchers performed medical examinations, intelligence tests, and assessment of ability to cope with stress on these men. Researchers found that over 5000 men had back problems severe enough to interfere with their military service. The vast majority of their disorders were ‘nonspecific back pain and disease.  The recruits who had poor coping skills were most likely to have back pain.  Those with good coping skills also had higher intelligence scores.

For chronic back pain, besides the usual TCM treatments, stress reduction should be recommended to some patients - such as, Qigong. 
   
 

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