You and Your Back

 

When people ask about their health I often detect back trouble. It seems to be a very common form of human weakness. Biologists tell us that our spines are not well designed for the upright posture – we have evolved more quickly than our physiology has been able to keep up with, hence our aching backs.

 

That is the physical explanation for back trouble. But as with all illness, there is another dimension to be considered – the spiritual - since most of our physical illnesses have an underlying spiritual, or if you prefer to describe it that way, psychological, cause.

 

Caroline Myss in her books “Anatomy of the Spirit” and “Why People Don’t Heal and How They Can” discusses the mind/body/spirit connection in some depth. She points out that symptoms don’t appear in isolation. There is a relationship between what is going on in a person’s life and the nature of the illness they manifest.  For example, someone who is emotionally wounded (whose “heart is broken”) is likely to have a heart attack; someone in a sexually dysfunctional marriage is likely to manifest cancer of the sexual organs; and someone who is overloaded is likely to have back trouble.

 

There are various forms of overload. The most obvious is over weight. The spine protests against carrying extra baggage, and a cycle of reduced exercise because of the pain, plus further weight increase begins. All too soon the sufferer becomes more and more conscious of their declining self image, and the situation becomes chronic. The only way to deal with this sort of back trouble is to break the vicious circle with exercise and strength training at the gym, with help from a counsellor in addressing the food issues involved.

 

Back trouble is also seen in those who cannot say “no.” These people take on every job that is thrown at them; they take on board the problems of other people; and they find it hard to identify who “owns” the problems with which they are loading themselves down. Such people are often “rescuers” and worriers. They find it hard to understand that such behaviour is a learned habit and can be changed. They may also be loaded down with unresolved emotional issues such as guilt, or grief or anger.

 

For such people, assertiveness courses may be helpful. They also benefit from books such as “Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway” by Sue Jeffars, to help them learn to deal with worry; and they may find it helpful to look at books on business efficiency and problem solving so they learn to better identify who owns their problems.

 

A sore back can be a useful tool. It points to the fact that something in one’s life is out of balance and it needs to be fixed. A visit to the physiotherapist, the osteopath or the chiropractor is a good start, but unless something is done to address the underlying causes of the problem, it is simply placing the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. The mind is crying out, through the body, for attention to be paid to the mental and spiritual health of the sufferer.

 

Sore back? Sore soul!