How Back Pain Can Affect Internal Organs
When you’re in pain, especially back pain, it can be difficult to concentrate on anything else. When you’re desperate for relief, the connection between pain in your back and your internal organs may not be your first concern, but perhaps it should.
Comorbidity: Back Pain and Internal Ailments
Pain is the body’s natural warning system, one which all too often goes unheeded in the frantic pace of the modern world. This is especially true of back pain, which many people try to “tough out” as they attribute it to the natural aging process.
Your spine houses your nervous system, which is comprised of 31 pairs of nerves that regulate everything from sensation to organ function. Each of these systems is interconnected, so it’s not uncommon for patients with back pain to also suffer from comorbid conditions.
Pain in the cervical spine area of the upper, mid and lower neck can be connected to issues with your eyes, thyroid gland, sinuses and other systems of the head. Moving along to the thoracic region of the mid back, the immune and digestive systems come into play. Subluxations in these areas can interfere with normal function of the stomach, lungs and heart, manifesting as indigestion, high blood pressure and asthma, to name a few.
The lower back, or lumbar spine, contains nerves which control reproductive organs, intestines and bladder. If you suffer from back pain in this region, you may also experience sciatic nerve pain, infertility, difficulty with menstruation and constipation. Back pain in the lumbar, sacrum and coccyx regions can also interfere with your sexual health.
Back pain and whole-body wellness
Approaching your body as a delicate ecosystem rather than a series of closed systems with no effect on one another allows you to take a whole-body approach to wellness. Addressing subluxation and misalignment in the spine can improve nerve functionality throughout your body, dramatically increasing your quality of life if you suffer from chronic illnesses and pain.
Chiropractic care can help you to not only correct subluxations, but also understand the interconnected balance of your entire body. Cervical misalignments don’t have to doom you to a lifetime of chronic migraines, and nerve interference throughout the rest of your spine doesn’t have to manifest as internal ailments. When you know how your spine contributes to overall health, it’s easier to take care if it properly.
The health of your spine can be negatively impacted by mundane activities like prolonged computer use, poor posture when you drive and your sleeping position. Traumatic experiences like car accidents and sports injuries can aggravate existing issues or cause brand new ones. The simple act of living is hard on your back, as simple gravity causes misalignments. Fortunately, modern chiropractic care is centered around the importance of promoting spinal health for overall wellness.
If you have chronic health conditions and matching back pain, the non-invasive and drug-free treatment offered by an experienced chiropractor may be just the answer you’ve been seeking.
