We don’t tend to associate back pain with hypertension, but pain which is not intermittent or transitory may affect your blood pressure. If you have back pain which has been around for a while, it’s something you should be thinking about.
Let’s read about how back pain can impact your blood pressure. And once you’ve got the information in hand, I hope you’ll consider addressing the problem by visiting a medical professional and seeking treatment.
The “whys”
Pain is trauma. When we’re in pain for a long time, the trauma is sustained and that can impact us on multiple levels.
There’s the psychological effect of chronic pain to consider. When your back has been hurting for an extended period, it’s likely that your temper will be shorter, you’ll be more easily fatigued and you may be stressed out by the effect these realities have on your quality of life.
All that can add up elevated blood pressure.
This is due to a couple of biological responses to pain, as follows:
- Your brain sends out electrically-charged pain signals in the presence of pain. That means your nervous system is constantly on red alert. The effect of this response is often a pulse rate exceeding more than 100 beats a minute (tachycardia) and hypertension (high blood pressure).
- Pain signals also prompt your adrenal glands to release adrenaline – another factor which can push your heart rate and blood pressure up.
Symptoms of Hypertension
While high blood pressure doesn’t always manifest symptoms, some signs of it are:
- Arrythmia (irregular heartbeat)
- Headaches
- Labored breathing/difficulty breathing
- Problems with vision
- Undue fatigue
- Pain in the chest
- A pounding sensation in the neck, ears or chest
- Confusion
Even if you have one or these symptoms and you’ve been living with back pain for an extended period, it’s important that you visit your doctor to ensure that the pain you’re experiencing is not affecting your cardiovascular health.
As I said, high blood pressure can be asymptomatic but if you’ve got chronic back pain, you’re over 40 and male, not keeping tabs on your heart is a bad idea. Get your blood pressure checked.
And while you’re at it, don’t let the opportunity pass to talk about potential solutions to your back pain. There are many effective, non-invasive therapies to treat chronic back pain and you can find them here at Back & Body Medical in the heart of Manhattan.
Pain relief at Back & Body
At Back & Body, we practice multi-disciplinarian care which implicates treatments from 4 distinct disciplines – acupuncture, chiropractic, sports medicine and physical therapy. From a comprehensive range of therapies, we design programs of care which relieve pain.
This award-winning approach is gaining interest in the clinical community because it works.
You don’t need to live with chronic back pain and the other health risks it can trigger. There’s a better way to live and the team at Back & Body can help you get there, restoring your quality of life.
If you’re ready to feel better, contact us.
