As a massage therapist and a Pilates instructor in the city, I would see some clients with the same pain every time I saw them. And it wasn't that I wasn't a good therapist. They would see lots of experts, and it didn't matter which treatments they had, they reported the same pain. With other clients, their pain relief was more simple. They would regularly attend Pilates, do more exercise which could just be walking, change their desk set up and do more activities, which relaxed them.
I used to think the more new techniques I could learn, the more I would be able to help those clients with more persistent pain. But I think less about my own techniques now, and more about the state of mind of the clients in persistent pain.
Quite a few years ago, I remember one of my colleagues was in so much pain she actually couldn't sit down at her desk. She was relatively young, she hadn't had a fall or a fracture, she hadn't pulled a muscle or torn a disc ligament (which has happened to me once, and I couldn't sit on anything other than a toilet!) she didn't even have a strain in her back. She was so tight around the gluteal muscles (from the latin word for rump) that she couldn't sit on her bottom!
It turned out her diagnosis was intense muscle contraction due to stress. She had two jobs at that time, a day and a night job to make ends meet, and it was understandably, a very stressful time. I remember being amazed that it was so bad that she couldn't stretch the gluteal muscles enough to be able to sit down. There was no amount of physical treatment that would counteract it and she had to have strong muscle relaxants and rest. But ultimately, she had to make a change and ditch the second job to reduce her stress levels, because here's the thing, your brain controls your pain, and it won't go away until it's satisfied you've listened to the pain alarm. And even then, it can take a while to disentangle emotions and pain.
How stress works
The major stress hormone, cortisol, is actually a helpful hormone in certain situations. It's the hormone that creates the fight, flight, freeze response in the body. It's the hormone that kicks in when you're in danger like running away from a tiger. It gives you a turbo boost of energy and fires up the big muscles in your body for action. But we don't run away from tigers anymore, instead we have many perceived threats which create exactly the same physiological response in the body as a real danger.
Another former colleague was so stressed at just the thought of a mailing day (back in the day when you used to post letters), that she felt physically ill every Thursday evening. Just the thought of the photocopier failing the next day, and the possibility that she wouldn't get the post out in time, was enough to set off her stress hormones and lead to a physical reaction. How you perceive a situation, real or imagined, can lead to a physical reaction. And long term, stress can lead to what seems like constant pain in the neck, shoulders, back, hip or anywhere in the body. It has a big impact on vital organs too, like blood pressure, heart rate, and the gut.
How to deal with stress whilst sitting at a desk
- I believe movement is the antidote for muscular pain. There was a time when patients with prolapsed discs (commonly known as a slipped disc in the back) were left to lie in bed for weeks to rest. Now, they are encouraged to move as soon as possible. If you're sitting at your desk for extended periods, you need to regularly move. You could do the 5 minute videos at Refreshercise.com anytime during the day, or just get up and move around for a few minutes.
- If you have a longer break, go for a walk, or a short run if possible, to increase blood flow through your body and "use up" the cortisol in your body, rather than allow it to sit there festering. I once felt compelled to go for a run immediately after a phone call about a delivery that I'd waited for and never appeared! My blood pressure had rocketed, so I just ran out the door for a short run to release all the tension. Obviously, this isn't always a possible remedy, but definitely move away from the phone or desk.
- Use breathing or short meditation techniques during the working day. You don't have to sit in the dark to meditate. You can focus your eyes away from the screen, maybe look at a photo or a plant, or any object close by, and really look at it closely. Look at the colour, the shape, the relative size, look at it in great detail. Then touch the object, or any object, and feel it with your fingers, the warmth or coldness of it, the texture of it. Then listen to something that is far in the distance or close by. Distinguish the different sounds you can hear. And repeat this process two or three times. It doesn't need to take long, but it just gives your mind a little break from your imagination, and brings you into the present.
- Acknowledge the source of your stress, is it real or is it a potential threat or danger? Can you reframe the way your mind is thinking about a potential danger? For example, the receptionist who was worried about getting the post out; firstly, the photocopier might not have broken, and secondly if it had broken, it is out of her control and not her fault! You often hear top performers in sport talking about "control the controllables, and not to worry about what you can't control." I think it's a good mantra for the workplace and for life in general. It's not always easy to follow, but it's worth reminding yourself that stress is a major contributor to pain and other health issues; you may have thought your way into it, so you can think your way out of it.
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