…and your lower back or neck doesn’t have a problem with your bedding, but it does with the holiday season!
This is the time of year where osteopathic manual therapists see the most seized up lower backs and necks. And unlike the general belief, it does not come from “sleeping funny” but more from fatigue, stress and a poor digestive system.
This is why your guts and the Christmas parties don’t get along. Your digestive track holds onto your back in order to be suspended in your abdomen (remember that we used to be quadrupeds, which made more sense then). In the picture below, you can see in green the connective tissues attaching the digestive track to your back:
Depending on which connective tissue or organ is struggling, the dull ache or pull will be in a different location. But why at this time of year you ask? Well, how many Christmas parties, cookie exchanges, Christmases with the different sides of your family are you going to do? How different are your meals from what you usually eat? Are they richer than normal, perhaps? Do you consume more alcohol? How do you usually feel at the end of December? The early darkness, sick kids, and pressure to get organized all add up to make your body a little more exhausted than during the rest of the year.
“Ok, but this doesn’t explain why I woke up and couldn’t move my back/neck…”
The guts are working harder at night because your body isn’t busy doing other things. This is why there is lots of morning pain in the lumbar spine especially when it’s coming from a dysfunction of your digestive track overnight, creating tension on the suspension system linking them to your back.
What can I do to prevent this pain?
Make sure you keep doing some exercises during this busy month–even some gentle stretches and breathing exercises will help. Balance your diet between the feasts, don’t forget to take your probiotic, eat foods that help your liver function or for some of you, talk to your naturopath about supplements for you liver. Finally: rest and sleep. Listen to what your body is telling you; it knows best.
Hopefully, this advice will help you to understand how gut health is important in preventing back pain and will save you a visit to your osteopathic manual therapist because that’s what we wish you, and a happy holiday season of course!