A Painful Grudge

As a veteran chiropractor, I’ve seen my share of back pain.  It may come as a surprise that most people afflicted with back pain don’t have any idea what caused their back to “go out.” Many of the insurance companies have sought to uncover the cause of back pain through numerous studies.  Unfortunately, the only result to come out of these studies is that the cause of back pain is largely unknown.  In fact, the only consistent predictor of back pain is what is referred to as psychosocial stress – meaning back pain is often caused by factors such as financial, job, and relationship stress.

A study titled “A Painful Grudge” was released from the journal, The Back Letter.  The study reported, “Holding a grudge may somehow increase vulnerability to a heart attack, heart disease, hypertension, as well as peptic ulcer disease.”  Researchers found “bearing a grudge had an association with chronic back and neck problems, arthritis, and frequent headaches.”  This is one of many studies that show all forms of stress, physical, chemical, and emotional will impact the nervous system and affect physiology.  In this case, the lesson is to drop your grudge and practice forgiveness.  This type of forgiveness does not mean you need to agree with or condone the wrong that was done to you, but that you agree to forgive yourself and the other person so that you can move on for health’s sake.  Even the Mayo clinic is teaching people with chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia to practice forgiveness.  For more information on this, please contact our office.