Unhappiness at Work Causes Back Pain?

Most people will experience pain in the lower back during their lifetime. But this doesn't account for the fact that debilitating low-back pain is a major reason individuals give for being absent from work and for a large proportion of disability insurance claims. It has been hard to explain, especially since fewer and fewer people in the more economically developed nations work in physically demanding jobs in heavy industries.

A study in England showed that people who were dissatisfied with their jobs (or were stressed and unhappy about being unemployed) were two or three times more likely to be absent from work (or receiving treatment) because of low-back pain than were people who felt good about their work and economic situation.

If you experience back pain great enough to make you call in sick and possibly stay out of work for weeks, months, or even permanently, it may have more to do with your happiness or lack of it than with whether or not you have strained your back working.

The message is clear: It hurts to have a negative attitude; unhappiness and discontent endanger your health and your livelihood. Your chiropractor can help you deal with your back pain and may also have some good ideas about how to improve your attitude. For more information on back pain, go to http://www.chiroweb.com/tyh/backpain.html.

Reference: Papageorgiou AC, Croft PR, Thomas E, et al. Psychosocial risks for low back pain: are these related to work? Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 1998:volume 57, pp500-502.