The Connection Between Stress and Injuries

Journal of Clinical Investigation
According to research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, stress can lower your bone mineral density, leading to an escalated risk of bone-connected injuries like stress fractures. Researchers looked at the connection between stress caused by isolation (as in a pandemic) and the concentration in the blood of norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter, and hormone that is part of the body’s stress response and plays a role in heart rate and blood pressure. The study looked at data on people put into an isolated habitat that mimicked a space station and found that as anxiety became elevated, bone density started decreasing.

A takeaway from the study is that taking measures to reduce the amount of stress in your daily life can bring about better bone health, in addition to all the other benefits of lower stress like emotional resiliency, improved cardiovascular and cognitive function, and stronger immunity.

Studies of Athletes
Computer Search Studies using the databases of PubMed, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar from 1992 to March of 2020 and employing the keywords: “sports injury,” “stress,” “anxiety,” “athletic injury,” “psychology,” “predictors,” and “athletes” were analyzed. The results also confirmed that stress and anxiety are two notable psychological variables that are associated with predicting injury in different sports and were discovered to be significant in the incidence of sports injuries among male and female athletes of different sports. It can be concluded that stress and anxiety are the two main intrinsic risk factors that play a major role in injury occurrence and injury severity in athletes.

Steps to Lower Your Stress Level

Sleep – Getting enough sleep is one key to lowering your stress level. The Mayo Clinic recommends adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. The lack of sleep can influence digestion, mood, and exercise performance.

Activity – The Mayo Clinic suggests walking, jogging, gardening, housecleaning, biking, swimming, weightlifting, or anything else that keeps you active.

Eat Healthily – Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains; also avoid too much caffeine, alcohol, smoking, or eating too much.

Meditate – Meditation can instill a sense of calm, peace, and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.

Make Social Connections – Social contact is a great stress reliever since it can offer distraction, deliver support and help you cope with life’s up and downs. Also, consider volunteering for a charitable group and helping yourself while helping others.

Ask for Help – If self-care measures just are not relieving your stress, you may need to look for reinforcements by consulting a healthcare professional.

Employing healthy ways to manage stress is a key component of protecting your mental and physical health.

To learn more about how stress and injuries are connected visit https://bobalonzi-advanced-rolfer.com/ or contact Bob Alonzi directly at (310) 451-3250. For monthly insider information, subscribe to our monthly newsletter!”