Learn How to Relieve Body Aches and Pains by Managing Stress with Dr. Jacob Swart – Stress Series 4

Hola amigos! Welcome to One Small Bite!

It’s just another Tuesday afternoon in front of the computer and your back is acting up again. The pain comes and goes, but when it does it makes it so hard to concentrate. It’s so frustrating because you’re told to just take some pain meds, but to no avail. We may not realize that the aches and pains in our body can be an indirect effect of chronic stress that goes on almost automatically. For some, that automatic stress is so familiar we wouldn’t know what to do without it. It’s taking its toll on the body, sleep, eating, and you don’t even notice it. This is what we’re going to talk about today. How to relieve those aches and pains with a little bit of stress management, and a lot of compassion and awareness. Here are some of the main points we will talk about today.

Highlights of this episode:

• Benefits of an Out-of-Network Physical Therapy practice
• How chronic stress affects those body aches and pains
• Runners and people on wheelchairs
• Recovery and body physiology and biology
• 3 Simple ways to manage stress
• Call-to-action to relieve pain

Guest Bio: 

Dr. Jacob Swart is the Athletes’ Potential. As a company it is their mission to prove that if you have a body you’re an athlete. They have helped thousands of people in the Atlanta area get back to living the healthy lifestyle they deserve and we’re just getting started. In addition to receiving his doctoral degree in Physical Therapy from Ohio University, Jacob is also a certified strength and conditioning specialist and CrossFit Level 1 coach. Jacob has worked with the men and women of the United States Air Force, current and former NFL players, US Olympics, multiple collegiate sports, CEOs, and desk jockeys alike. He is passionate about using his advanced background in strength and conditioning in conjunction with his training in manual therapy, performance dry needling and joint manipulations to help his clients reduce their risk of injury and perform at an optimal level.

Episode Show Notes: 

[04:02] Benefits of an out-of-network physical therapy practice
Yes, I’m saying it, Out-of-Network physical therapy practice, Athlete’s Potential. While insurance plans help pay for physical therapy, many in-network practices are mainly checking off required procedures in order to get you to the minimum outcome possible. It’s not their fault, or this is to say that in-network physical therapists are not good at what they do, they just don’t have an incentive to get your potential. An out-of-network practice is mostly focused on not just getting you better, but helping you reach a higher potential. An approach that is focused on the whole person and the various aspects of their lives such as your eating behaviors, sleep patterns, work and commute situation, and yes, stress. And of course, we’re talking about the Chronic Stress that often goes undetected. Chronic Stress affects our joints and back in both direct and indirect ways.

[08:45] How chronic stress affects those body aches and pains
If you think about the plethora of stress in our lives over the last several years – COVID pandemic; racism and discrimination; political polarization; gun violence; worldwide recession; personal stressors and trauma like depression, loneliness, and anxiety – it’s no wonder that our bodies hurt. Chronic stress creates chronic inflammation in the body, which can perpetuate the very aches and pains that we deal with. Weight-stigma is a diet culture tool that increases people stress levels on a deep chronic and consistent level, along with guilt and shame that falls heavily on people and pressures them to be less active, eat less or healthier, and increases poorer sleep patterns. The flood of cortisol leads to more sugar and fat in the blood, which over time the body has a harder time managing. Exercise and help but too much can make things worse can indirectly add to more stress on the joints and might disrupt your sleep, your posture, and mindset as well.

[11:54] Runners or people on wheelchairs
One way of finding stress relief is running. Some people love to run several miles a week, compete in 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons, full marathons, and some even ultra-marathons. But what happens when that running no longer relieves the pain? What happens when that running is contributing to the pain? Is it form or function? It could be both. For example a teacher was training for a marathon and she was dealing with a lot of back pain. The physical therapist at Athlete’s Potential were able to see the erector muscles along her back just tensing up as she took a breath in. Or the client that came to Athlete’s Potential in a wheelchair because she was dealing with a severe Achilles tendonitis. They were able to look at the stress in her day and the effects on her sleep, which lead to poor circulation to an old tear in her tendon. With a little work on her sleep and stress management, exercises to help her move her legs and proper form, she was up walking again.

[21:51] Recovery and body physiology and biology
The body has a funny way of repairing itself, but one thing is for sure, providing the basics are essential. What are those basics? Eating, Resting, and Movement. These are the first methods of “stress management.” Let’s talk a little bit more about each of these.

Eating – obviously most of us eat, and you might be thinking “yes, we need to eat lots of greens, fruits, and lean proteins so I get my antioxidants and anti-inflammatories” but it’s about making sure to eat. Often, the chronic stress keeps us from listening to our bodies and we skip meals, drink water or coffee instead of eating BF, or grab a less than substantial snack to fuel our bodies when we’re running from meeting to meeting or picking up the kids from practice. Eating means providing your body with the nourishment, not just of healthy foods, and fuel at adequate times throughout the day to help keep your immune system, muscular-skeletal system, and all the other systems in check. When we don’t eat enough, we run the risk of exacerbating the stress in our days.

Resting helps our body recover, restore, and rebuild the necessary fibers, joints, tendons, bones, and so much more that is key to getting back to movement. This means getting adequate and enough sleep through the night, and we’re not talking about perfect sleep, but improving over time. Resting also means slowing down. Taking breaks throughout the day. Going on a walk with colleagues at work or with the dog. It means taking time to relax throughout the day so you have more time to work harder.

Moving means enjoying activities that make us feel good and challenge us to be better. Not just going to the gym or Orange Theory and “killing it.” Movement is about finding a balance that doesn’t add stress to our day.

[49:37] 3 Simple ways to manage stress and relieve the pain

• Consistent Movement Routine – finding a form of joyful movement exercises and techniques that provide relief and therapy for pain areas, as well as help enhance movement in the future
• Diaphragmatic Breathing – learning to extend the belly or abdomen when breathing in, taking a deep and slow breath in through the noise, holding it for 7 seconds, and then exhaling as the abdomen and belly sinks. This helps you get oxygen into the body, really lets out that carbon-dioxide, and helps relax the body throughout the day or at night
• Pressure-based Work – this is learning to stretch and relax various parts of the body to help increase circulation and relieve pain. Massages and pressure-based exercises can be done at your physical therapy practice and they can provide exercises you can do at home.

[1:03:26] Call-to-Action
Small steps that can help you manage stress and build small incremental relief to those aches and pains

• 1. Get better sleep – establish a simple shutdown routine. Listen to podcast episode 149 (https://orozconutrition.com/podcast/epi149/) for more info on improving your sleep
• 2. Breath work – slow down and breath, breathing exercises
• 3. Give yourself grace – you won’t know and do everything right or well and that’s ok

Resources:

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