Consumer Edition

March 2005 | Vol. 6, No. 2
© 2005 American Massage Therapy Association®
All rights reserved.

Hello, e-touch reader!

Stress—it affects us all. But do you know just how damaging it can be? This month’s article, “How Long-Term Stress Contributes To Pain, Injury And Disease,” reveals how harmful stress can be to your body, and offers some tips to help keep your stress level in check.

Remember, studies have shown that regular massage aids in stress relief. Find an AMTA massage therapist in your area and book your appointment today.

Enjoy the issue!

~The Editors
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HOW LONG-TERM STRESS CONTRIBUTES TO PAIN, INJURY AND DISEASE

Ben E. Benjamin and Ruth Werner

A stressful, workaholic lifestyle that is frequently out of balance has many unforeseen consequences.  We usually recognize this only when it dramatically confronts us.  We may get a violent pain in our abdomen whenever we eat, or we may suddenly feel tired all the time when we normally have boundless energy.  Our wake-up call may be a massive heart attack, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), frequent migraine headaches or an incapacitating neck or back pain that makes it difficult to sleep, walk, sit or stand without pain. When continual high levels of stress erode the body’s strength and resiliency, our body begins to fall apart.  Here is how it happens.

Cardiovascular System

Stress reactions require major rerouting of blood throughout the body. This is largely controlled by the speed of the heart rate and the tightness or looseness of the various arteries (the tubes that carry blood away from the heart). So the cardiovascular system is particularly sensitive to changes when we're under stress, and it suffers when that stress is unnecessarily prolonged.

There are many stress-related disorders of the cardiovascular system, and many of these problems are closely interrelated. In other words, having one cardiovascular problem can greatly increase your risk of having others.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a situation where the arteries are chronically tight, rather than flexible and elastic. Having them tighten down increases the force with which blood moves through them, just as squeezing your thumb over a garden hose increases the force with which the water moves through it. Long-term consequences of untreated high blood pressure are very serious; arteries become prone to damage (atherosclerosis), which will raise the risk of blood clots (thrombosis) and heart attacks or stroke.

Getty Images A hectic, stress-filled lifestyle adversely affects your body in multiple ways.

All of these are life-threatening problems that can be prevented or ameliorated by taking action to reduce stress in your life. Daily exercise, regular massage therapy, good nutrition and working 30 to 40 hours a week at something you enjoy, contribute a great deal to lessening stress, while prolonging your life.

Musculoskeletal System

In an ongoing flight-or-fight-stress reaction, all our muscles become habitually tight: We walk through life as if we are always on red alert. If this goes on long enough, we will actually begin to interpret this unnecessary tension as normal. This constant elevated state of physical tension is what massage therapists and bodyworkers refer to as chronic muscle tension, which is the muscular component of internalized stress.  Before we know it, our knuckles are white as we grip the steering wheel, and it feels strange to just “do nothing” and relax. We may walk around with our heads bent down and our shoulders raised up—an inefficient tense posture that opens the door to headaches, neck pain, backaches and serious injury. If someone suggests that we lift our heads, drop our shoulders, take a deep breath or take a rest, it feels unfamiliar and unnatural.

Headaches, jaw pain, neck pain, backaches, difficulty sleeping, frequent cramps and muscle spasms are classic examples of how muscular tension can translate into incapacitating pain and fatigue. These problems can be caused by a multitude of factors, including chronically tense muscles, bony misalignments in the spine, habitual teeth grinding, poor movement habits and any number of other variables, including disease, allergies, inadequate nutrition, and of course, continual stress. 

Learning how to relax our bodies, our muscles and our minds is a worthwhile endeavor that, unfortunately, is not normally taught to us as a part of our education. There are many strategies for learning how to relax and rejuvenate ourselves, including relaxation exercises, visualizations, massage and bodywork therapy, biofeedback, various types of exercise, yoga, meditation and many more.

Immune System

A healthy immune system is a wonder of nature. Its agents constantly patrol the body looking for anything that doesn't belong there. When it finds something, it tags it, attacks it and generally eats it.

massagewarehouse.com Taking care of yourself by eating a balanced diet and making the time to get regular massage, will help keep your stress level in check.

The relationship between stress and immune function has been the subject of intense research. It is clear that long-term stress suppresses immune system activity, and makes us more vulnerable to pain, injury and disease. The culprit in this case is a familiar one: cortisol. The presence of cortisol in the blood has been shown to slow down white blood cell activity, and to inhibit the secretion of important immune system chemicals that help us to heal.  Recent research has shown than regular massage therapy lowers high levels of cortisol.

By now, you've probably realized that almost any disorder can be traced back to excessive stress. Research reveals that the negative impact of stress on our health can be long-term and cumulative. The ability to identify and deal with stressors in life can enable us to not become a victim of our genetics or our background. Most of us can have a body that is resilient and adaptable, even in our 21st century surroundings, if we become proactive participants in keeping our body relaxed and healthy.  Only we have the ability to arrange our lives so that we are not too busy to take care of our bodies and ourselves.

Ben E. Benjamin holds a Ph.D. in sports medicine and education and is the founder and president of the Muscular Therapy Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He maintains a private practice in Cambridge and has been in practice for more than 40 years.

Ruth Werner is a massage therapist and teaches anatomy, physiology and pathology at the Myotherapy College of Utah.

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