Stress and arthrosis: is there a connection?

It is generally accepted that joint diseases most often occur after injuries. In athletes, arthrosis is caused by frequent overloads; in overweight people, it is caused by heavy weight. Treatment of osteoarthritis may be necessary for diabetes and osteoporosis, against the background of hormonal changes or unfavorable heredity. All this is true, if not for one “but”.

Recent discoveries by scientists indicate that one of the main causes of degenerative changes in joints is psychogenic in nature. We are talking about chronic stress in which the patient lives. Why does this happen and can it be avoided?

Do you live in constant stress? Expect joint problems

The mechanism of arthrosis development due to stress

With prolonged experiences in the human body, the level of corticosteroid hormones increases. Biochemists are convinced that their excess stops the production of hyaluronic acid, an important component of synovial fluid, or joint lubrication. Gradually, dehydration and drying out of the cartilage occurs, which becomes thinner and cracks - arthrosis is evident!

Which negative emotions are especially harmful to joints?

Medicine does not give an exact answer to this question. The information presented below is the result of individual studies and can be excellent food for thought for those who are concerned about their health.

Coxarthrosis

Scientists have noticed that treatment for arthrosis of the hip joint is usually required by people who are pleasant in communication, not prone to conflicts, restrained and calm. Irritation, anxiety, and suppressed anger provoke the release of corticosteroids into the blood, which interfere with the production of synovial fluid. Internal tension in the nervous system causes spasms and hypertonicity of the skeletal muscles, especially strong in the hip area, which strongly “pinches” the damaged joint. This accelerates its deformation.

In Western countries, where it is customary to smile to hide your weaknesses, the percentage of people with coxarthrosis is constantly growing. After all, suppressing emotions often leads to a severe depressive-stressful state.

Coxarthrosis often affects reserved, non-conflict people who tend to suppress their emotions

Gonarthrosis

Knee arthrosis occurs, according to researchers, as a result of severe stress or difficult experiences. This happens, for example, after a divorce, dismissal from work, loss of loved ones or other difficult stages in life.

Gonarthrosis is diagnosed in people who are emotionally tired, who instead of interest in life have fatigue accumulated over the years. This category includes, for example, women “50+” who are forced to work, manage the household and deny themselves everything. Even when they do not yet need treatment for osteoarthritis, since their knees are still healthy, they still walk with difficulty, as if “with weights on their legs.”

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A person without vital energy stoops, his legs swell, blood circulation in them is disrupted - vascular thrombosis or varicose veins occurs. The knee joints gradually lose flexibility, and the cartilage in them loses moisture (due to the lack of normal blood supply). The cartilage tissue dries out and cracks - arthrosis begins.

Gonarthrosis in men develops against the background of hyper-responsibility. However, since representatives of the stronger sex more often allow themselves “little joys,” they face the problem of treating severe arthrosis less often than women. In turn, it has been noted that the final stages of this disease are observed mainly in intelligent but critical people prone to chronic dissatisfaction.

Osteoarthritis of the knee often develops against the background of emotional fatigue or hyperresponsibility

Causes of leg pain

As already mentioned, the reasons why legs hurt can be very different. They can be caused by a number of diseases, the first of which is vascular. They are followed by diseases of the spine and inflammation of muscle tissue.

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Vascular diseases of the legs

Diseases of the blood vessels of the legs, which are characterized by pain symptoms localized in the legs, include:

varicose veins - characterized by dull, aching pain, which is accompanied by heaviness in the legs and cramps in the calf muscles;
thrombophlebitis - characterized by constant pain that is pulsating in nature; often they turn into a burning sensation under the skin, especially with this disease the calves of the legs hurt;
thrombosis - characterized by unexpected sharp pain and accompanied by heaviness, a feeling of fullness and swelling;
obliterating atherosclerosis of the lower extremities - characterized by pain in the calf muscles of the legs and thigh muscles (this is especially evident when walking and subsides when moving);
Leriche syndrome - characterized by intermittent claudication and pain in the left or right leg.

Spinal diseases

Spinal conditions that cause leg pain include:

lumbar osteochondrosis - degenerative processes occurring in the spine cause radiating pain;
herniated disc in the lumbar region - characterized by pain radiating to the buttock and the entire leg up to the foot, accompanied by burning, numbness of the limb and tingling;
sciatica is a pain symptom caused by pinched nerve endings, the sciatic nerve.

Muscle tissue diseases

Muscle tissue diseases that cause pain in the leg muscles include:

myositis, which can have an infectious etiology, and also develop due to overload;
myoenthesitis, which is caused by excessive professional physical activity;
Fibromyalgia, which mostly affects women and is characterized by widespread muscle pain in one or both legs.

Pain in the above diseases starts from the hips and “goes down”; sometimes convulsive syndrome occurs.

Joint diseases

Speaking about diseases that cause pain in the legs, one cannot fail to mention the following:

different types of knee arthritis;
degenerative diseases of the hip joint (coxitis, coxarthrosis);
gout of the legs - gnawing pain, worsens at night; throbbing pain in the big toe;
erysipelas.

The following emotions are especially dangerous:

internal irritation;
chronic resentment towards others, loved ones or the whole world;
discontent.

When a person feels these emotions, he experiences a spasm of the anterior thigh, which accompanies gonarthrosis in 100% of cases. At first, the spasm does not make itself felt, but then it “tightens” the knees and prevents their free movement. As a result, either a rupture of the meniscus or deformation of the cartilage occurs.

Knees often bother people who are prone to criticism, self-criticism and dissatisfaction.

How important is psychological attitude in the treatment of arthrosis?

Practice shows that those who can restructure their thinking in a positive way succeed in treating arthrosis. Negative emotions increase the production of stress hormones, while positive ones, on the contrary, help activate the body's defenses.

The effect of any treatment largely depends on the patient’s mood. It is not surprising that even the highly effective intra-articular injections Noltrex have different effects on people with an identical diagnosis. For one person, two injections are enough to completely restore mobility and get rid of pain, while another needs 4-5 injections.

The disease recedes before the patient’s optimistic mood

Today, the theory about the connection between arthrosis and stress has not yet been scientifically substantiated, but scientists have every reason to believe that this factor is of great importance not only in the development of the disease, but also in its treatment. Learn to think positively, look for positive moments in life, say “no” to dissatisfaction, criticism and other negative emotions - you will be surprised by the results!

The effect of back pain on the nervous system

Quite often, pain along the ridge is a consequence of muscle spasm. The muscle itself consists of many vessels and nerve endings, which, under certain influences, can shrink and become numb. Pinching brings a feeling of pain and a feeling of “stiffness” in the back.

backache

has a strong influence on our lives, limits our opportunities and puts an end to many desires.

What most influences the occurrence of muscle spasms and accompanying pain?

Most of adults' waking hours are spent working, while children and young people spend most of their waking hours studying at school, institute, and college. This is the fundamental factor of a sedentary lifestyle. So, often, problems arise with the back, posture, the same muscle spasms, which in 90% of all cases are the cause of pain along our spine. Their occurrence depends on the following points:

heavy loads or staying in one position for a long time (physical labor, working at a computer monitor, constant similar actions);
poor blood flow to the muscle (a consequence of decreased physical activity, a common occurrence after undergoing severe operations and injuries);
sudden changes in climatic conditions, increased moisture content in the air;
congenital or acquired postural disorders (muscles do not work the same way: some are not involved, while others take on double or more loads);
disturbances in the functioning of internal organs lead not only to a general weakening of the body, but also under certain conditions (ulcers, inflammation of the kidneys, gall bladder) contribute to the entry of harmful elements into the blood that poison the entire human body;
if the intervertebral discs are sensitive to loads, they are initially weak.

The condition of the ridge depends on the functioning of the internal organs, but it itself has a great influence on their functioning. Any disease hits your weak points, and a common flu (body aches) will also affect your spine.

How do back problems affect the nervous system?

The spine is an important part of the body, a concentration of nerve endings and blood vessels. And if muscle tone is increased, and blocks have formed in their fibers, then the consequences for a person’s well-being are very dire. Disturbances in the cervical spine have a particularly strong effect on the nervous system:

frequent severe headache
and dizziness;
numbness in the fingers;
migraine, lump in throat;
changes in blood pressure;
snore.

How does impaired blood circulation in the neck threaten normal brain function?

The lack of nutrition that the brain receives, caused by disruption of the blood vessels in the cervical region, prevents it from functioning fully. Any action requires a certain amount of resources, and if there are not enough of them, then the quality will not be good. This happens with the brain, it gives us the following signals about its “starvation”:

poor sleep;
forgetfulness;
inappropriate aggression and irritability;
apathy;
general depression and lack of good mood.

Everyone will notice such changes in their life; the main thing is not to start negative processes, but to start acting on time. Moreover, it is necessary to contact a good, qualified specialist, because the consequences of poor-quality medical intervention can only aggravate the situation.

How you can help your back at home

Pain along the spinal column, muscle tension, and muscle spasms introduce restrictions into our lives and force us to give up a lot. Visiting a doctor and taking any medications will not give the desired result if you do not make any efforts yourself. The pain may go away, and after a while it will remind itself again, and so on ad infinitum.

In the case of treating back problems, complex therapy is the most effective. You are the architect of your own happiness, and you can help yourself without leaving home. The most important thing is to take the first step and realize that you need to work on yourself every day, this is the only way to get good results.

The chiropractor will select a set of exercises that are most useful in your case. But you will do gymnastics at home, he will not control whether everything is done, how, and every day. Here you need to help yourself, because systematic exercise will return you to good sleep, mood, and improve the general condition of the body. When blood saturates the nervous system and brain in sufficient quantities, their performance will be restored.

An equally important point in case of muscle disorders will be providing nutrition to the body. This means that nutrition must be balanced and the most healthy foods added to the diet. This will speed up recovery and strengthen the muscles and spine.

What foods are most useful for spinal problems?

The blood distributes substances, microelements, vitamins and minerals to all vessels, to every organ, to every part of the body. And it’s up to us what we give our back to fight the pain. You need to consume the following products:

dairy (source of calcium);
meat (white chicken, pork, liver);
vegetables and fruits (apples, kiwi, various salads);
fish (white, red, shellfish);
various types of cereals (buckwheat, oatmeal, beans);
nuts and seeds (walnuts, almonds, sesame);
eggs (preferably raw or boiled).

It is undesirable to smoke and drink alcohol if you have back pain; this will only increase the negative impact on the nervous system and increase the recovery period.
The chiropractor himself will give you directions for the necessary procedures, the main thing is not to be lazy and complete the entire course. And don’t forget about regularly visiting your doctor. Author: K.M.N., Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences M.A. Bobyr