At our busy chiropractic clinic in Ashington, we see hundreds of patients dealing with back pain each year. It can be a very traumatic experience for the patient, as their pain can dramatically impact their quality of life — making it harder to work, sleep and remain active.


There have been several studies which have confirmed our observations. A recent large-scale study with over 190,000 participants found that chronic back and neck pain was associated with increased risk of anxiety, mood disorders, and alcohol abuse.

A Negative Feedback Loop
An article published on the Harvard Medical School website explained why back pain may be linked so closely with mental health disorders.

When back problems limit movement and cause pain, they trigger psychological distress. If a person has pre-existing psychological attitudes or brain chemistry abnormalities, it will be very difficult for them to deal with this distress. It can quickly turn into anxiety, emotional trauma and stress. Back pain can also take up all of a person’s attention, making it all-consuming.

If the pain is chronic it can even affect how the brain is wired. It can force the brain to switch away from the pain-sensitivity circuits to the circuits which process emotion. This leads to more mental stress and anxiety.

Unfortunately, conditions like anxiety can worsen pain even more. There is some evidence to suggest that anxiety makes people more sensitive to pain. This leads to a negative feedback loop, where pain causes anxiety and anxiety increases pain sensitivity.

The author of the Harvard piece notes that people with coping strategies can mitigate how much psychological stress they experience. So, a person who sees a chiropractor for chiropractic treatment or uses mindfulness meditation to calm their mind may experience less psychological stress.

How Chiropractic Care Can Help
Chiropractors use a variety of treatments to address the underlying issues which cause back pain, or other muscular skeletal conditions.

It is a holistic approach, which has been scientifically proven to be effective. A 2018 study found that after six weeks of chiropractic treatment, participants with back pain experienced less pain intensity, less disability and less need for pain medication.

Chiropractic for Stress and Anxiety
Most of us will experience some form of Stress or Anxiety at some point in our lives. Stress can even be helpful at times, a natural mental and physical response to demanding situations, which can help improve our focus and performance. But living with high levels of stress over a prolonged period of time can cause anxiety, depression and have a negative impact on our overall health.

Stress is a significant factor in mental health problems including anxiety and depression. It is also linked to physical health problems like heart disease, problems with our immune system, insomnia and digestive problems.

Mark Jones at Well Adjusted Health regularly treats patients that have been in pain for a long time and find that once their symptoms have been addressed that they can then more easily focus on the cause of their stresses. The pain, stress cycle is very difficult to break and many comment that once the physical side is under control then other symptoms become easier to address.

Chiropractic treatment can be hugely beneficial in the treatment of the symptoms of stress. It’s important to note that your Chiropractor can’t treat the cause of your stress, but Chiropractic care can certainly help to treat associated symptoms such as muscle tension, pain, headaches, and poor sleep.

Chiropractic treatments work to decrease pain and relax muscles. These benefits extend to improved quality of life, further reducing anxiety and stress.

If you have a specific question regarding any pain or problem areas, or would like to book a Free 15 minute consultation for you or your family please call Well Adjusted Health on