Many years ago, a cognitive therapist I was working with said something that stuck with me for a long time. She said that the spine is a metaphor for everything going on with your life, the good things and that bad- which is so true, and which lead me to the question I often ask patients: If it is a reflection of the good and the bad, which one are you going to focus on today?
I like to use the analogy of relating the spine to the trunk of a tree. When you look at the rings on a tree, you can see all of the history of the tree. In a museum here in Philadelphia, they have a cross section of one of the oldest elms ever cut down in the city. In it’s rings, you can see where there were fires, years of drought, places where the tree had been struck by lightning- they identified the rings that coincided with all of the major wars. By looking at the rings, you can tell what went on when, and the tree carried all of those ‘experiences’ with it until the day they cut it down.
Your spine is so similar- not that there are rings you can reference, but many of the aches and pains you experience can be tied to events in your life, and stressors happening today can effect all of the things going on in your spine already. For many people, the spine is the first place their stress goes (In my practice, there seems to be an even split between the spine and the stomach.) For example, if you have a history of low back pain, don’t be too surprised if it gets much worse when you are going through a tax audit. The flip side, is that when you get the big tax refund, you may find that your pain miraculously disappears.
I have one patient with sciatica from her piriformis- I can tell how her business is doing by how tender her piriformis muscle is. If she’s had a lot of sales, I can really move her sacrum. If sales are slow however, I can barely touch her. I am often asked if stress causes this or causes that. I believe that stress doesn’t cause anything- it just takes those things that you already have and makes them worse- sometimes much worse.
It can be a very helpful exercise when experiencing pain to try to think about all of the things going well in your life ( I sincerely hope there is something!) It can become so easy to focus on the pain, and all of the negative ways in which it has effected your life- those are the bad ‘rings.’
Throughout your day, take a few moments to focus on the good ‘rings.’ Your family? Kids? Good experiences? Whatever- try and find it. It has become kind of a cliche to talk about ‘finding your happy place,’ but taking a few minutes to actually find it can get your mind off of your pain, and onto better things.
Be well,
-Andy
The rings in a tree trunk tell you all about the tree's 'experiences.'
