Lower back pain is often considered an inevitable part of aging, but it doesn’t have to be. As we get older, it’s common to see friends or loved ones, who may never have experienced back pain before, suddenly dealing with it—and sometimes, it can feel as if people are “dropping like flies” into a life of chronic pain. This often raises a fear of, *what if this pain is inevitable for me too?* The looming worry that we may be next or that back pain could become a lifelong struggle can make even minor discomforts feel ominous and overwhelming. Although our bodies naturally change as we age, research shows that pain is often less about wear and tear and more about how the nervous system responds to factors like stress, fear, and anxiety. Chronic back pain, specifically, is closely tied to these emotional and mental factors, which can amplify and maintain the perception of pain. By understanding these influences and adopting strategies to manage them, it’s possible to significantly reduce pain and reclaim comfort.
Fear Around ‘Bad’ Movements and Marketing Myths Add to Back Pain
Adding to the frustration, we’re often told certain movements or positions are “bad” for our back, such as crossing our legs or sleeping on our sides without a pillow between our knees. While these positions may contribute to mild strain in some cases, they are generally not a direct cause of chronic back pain. However, the message that certain movements are harmful creates unnecessary fear around our everyday actions, leading to tension and an overly cautious approach to movement. Additionally, the back pain industry is a multi-billion-dollar market, with companies selling products like mattresses or specialty pillows, promising relief or even a cure. While a supportive mattress can help with comfort, the most effective approach to back pain is holistic, considering factors like emotional well-being, anxiety management, and mindful movement.
Let’s dive into why chronic back pain persists and how mood-boosting, nerve-calming activities can make a difference.
How Mood, Anxiety, and Health-Related Fears Maintain Pain
When pain persists, it’s common to feel anxious, fearful, or even depressed. However, these emotions don’t just occur alongside pain—they can also worsen it. For instance, fear that a movement could intensify the pain creates a cycle where the brain becomes hypersensitive, making even minor aches feel severe. This “pain-fear cycle” happens because the nervous system interprets fear or emotional distress as signs of bodily threat, amplifying pain signals in response. Breaking this cycle by improving mood and managing anxiety can help “rewire” the brain’s pain circuits, making pain less intense.
“What You Focus on Gets Magnified”: The Impact of Attention on Pain
Pain naturally draws focus, especially when it’s ongoing. However, this focus can actually reinforce pain. When we concentrate intensely on discomfort, the brain’s neural pathways associated with that pain become stronger, making pain feel worse over time. This phenomenon—where “what you focus on gets magnified”—suggests that shifting attention away from pain can lessen its intensity. Techniques like meditation, deep breathing, and mental redirection (focusing on pleasant thoughts) can interrupt this cycle and allow the brain to “reset.”
Mind-Body Approaches to Regulate the Nervous System
While pain medications provide temporary relief and can sometimes help break a vicious cycle of pain, addressing the mental and emotional aspects of pain can lead to lasting improvements and resilience in the face of future discomfort or injury. Here are several mind-body strategies that help manage pain by regulating the nervous system and improving mood:
1. Connect with Nature: Spending time in nature calms the nervous system, reduces cortisol (a key stress hormone), and counteracts pain-amplifying stress responses. Even simple activities, like a walk in a park or time spent in a garden, can reduce stress, improve mood, and lessen the body’s focus on pain.
2. Strengthening Social Connections: Meaningful social interactions are powerful pain relievers. Positive connections release endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, while also reducing the emotional distress associated with chronic pain. Sharing laughs or moments of genuine connection can significantly reduce pain perception, creating a more resilient response to discomfort.
3. Practices Like Hypnosis and Mindfulness: Techniques like mindfulness and hypnotherapy help train the brain to release constant pain anticipation and fear. Mindfulness, for example, encourages observing pain without judgment, reducing emotional distress and helping to retrain pain-related pathways. Hypnosis can guide the mind to focus on positive sensations and redirect attention, letting go of unhelpful beliefs and lessening the body’s stress response to pain.
4. Deep Breathing: Deep breathing encourages a natural relaxation response by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms the fight-or-flight reaction and promotes healing. Additionally, we can further strengthen these responses using interventions like hypnosis and somatic experiencing. These approaches promote a “bottom-up” effect, where relaxation becomes an automatic, physiological response—enabling deep, steady breathing to arise naturally. Deep breathing in conjunction with relaxation effectively reduces negative emotions and pain perception1.
5. Movement as Medicine: Gentle, pain-free movement has healing effects that go beyond pain reduction. Activities such as stretching, yoga, swimming, or walking increase circulation in affected areas, release muscle tension, and build strength and resilience in the muscles that support the back. Additionally, movement activates the body’s natural endorphin response, which helps to relieve pain naturally.
Building Trust in Resilience and Freedom from Pain
While chronic lower back pain is complex, it doesn’t have to become a permanent part of life or aging. Pain can improve significantly when we address the mind-body connection, redirect focus, and include uplifting, nerve-soothing activities in daily life. Incorporating these techniques into your life offers more than just relief; it opens the door to freedom, comfort, and a renewed sense of control over your well-being.
1Busch et al., 2012
