Can GRATITUDE Relieve Pain?

Dear Patients,
​
Do you ever find your body feeling worse when you’re in a bad mood or when things are not going right? Do you experience any of these common symptoms when your stress levels increase?
 

• Neck stiffness;
• Shoulder aches;
• Digestive issues;
• Joint pain;
• Muscle aches;
• Headaches;
• Spikes in blood pressure;
• Heaviness in the chest.

 
Many times, people don’t realize or correlate pain in their body with their emotional or mental states and it has been proven time and time again to have an effect. 
 
An online study tested gratitude intervention to see if it would help patients who were self-managing their arthritis symptoms. The hypothesis question was: Would a gratitude and mindfulness intervention decrease pain, anxiety, intensity and interference, fear of movement, and increase pain self-efficacy for the group?
 
151 people signed up for the study and 81 people completed the trial and the final outcome showed improvements by this intervention. 
 
So what does that tell us?
 

1. There are multiple ways to get well, be well, and stay well.
2. There are multiple factors that make our bodies sick or feel bad/worse.
3. It would be beneficial to our health to explore multiple wellness strategies.

 
At Crowthorne Family Chiropractic Centre, we believe in tackling health issues from the nervous system point of view. From there, Dr. Michael deciphers if the presenting condition requires attention of the spine, the mind, the posture, the emotions, and the nutrition of the body’s Whole Health System.
 
Dr. Michael recently attended a course on gratitude and was surprised at how many studies there are on the effectiveness of its practice on one’s health. 
 
As we come to the close of one of the more challenging years in our lifetime, we wanted to leave you with some hope and help to not only get you through it, but to make sure you, your loved ones, and your health are set up to thrive in the new year.
 
No matter what the challenges are on the horizon, our focus should be on how to be well and live. That way, we are assured that the best IS yet to come.
 
Expressing Gratitude for My Body:
 
Every morning, for the entire month of November, thank 3 things in your body for being alive. 
 
Go through the main and obvious parts of your body and thank it for doing its job. For example:

• I appreciate my heart for pumping 100,000 times a day without me ever having to ask it to do that or without me ever having to change its batteries. 
• Thank you to my eyes for helping me to see all the beautiful blessings in my life and for always blinking at just the right times to keep my eyeballs moist and clear.
• I am forever grateful for my fingers for always being so limber and strong as I do my work, drive my car and do my daily exercises.

 
As a bonus, you may want to jot down how these 3 body parts helped you throughout the day. You may be surprised at how much more positive you will feel about your body and your health after just a few days!
 
Happy THANKING your body, mind, and health!
 
 
 With Gratitude,

Crowthorne Family Chiropractic Centre