By Andrew Siyabalawatte and Sumaiya Farheen, March 2024.
Financial Worries
Spend, spend, spend – then worry about saving money when you need something, like saving for a house. Sound familiar?
The Back
Use, use, use – then when back pain dawns, take painkillers. If they do not work, and you become desperate, contact your GP or visit a back pain specialist and hope that they can help.
Accordingly to google – it takes an average of 10 years to save money for a deposit on a new home, whereas eliminating back pain when it has begun, may become a life long struggle for many.
Financial Worries Can Link To Back Pain
A study done in 2020 assessed eight types of financial worries and their association with chronic spinal pain. The eight types were (in no particular order):
1) paying monthly bills
2)maintaining standard of living
3)credit card payments
4)paying rent/mortgage/housing costs
5)medical costs for healthcare
6)money for retirement
7)medical costs of illness/accident
8)paying for children’s education
This study concluded that chronic spinal pain was significantly associated with money worries.
Further research in the journal Psychological Science also concluded that the link between physical pain and finances may be driven by the lack of financial control over your life. It can hurt physically to be economically insecure.
Dr. Nathan Wei, a national expert in rheumatoid and osteoarthritis at the Arthritis Treatment Center in Frederick, Md. “When my patients have a flare up, I ask them what kind of stress they are under.”
3 Easy Ways To Cope With Stress And Back Pain
- Make sleep a top priority. Stress, affects our sleep, our eating and spending habits. Sleeping well will help to alleviate stress and reduce potential bad habits that may culminate to developing back pain.
- Exercise more – Exercise evaporates stress. period. Less stress equals better decision making whether it be money or back related.
- Save money – Set aside cash each month in an emergency fund or a separate savings account, even during sluggish financial times. Savings can cushion a blow.
For Something To Become Chronic, First It Needs To Become Acute
Where most acute back pain may self resolve, identifying the cause of back pain early, is key to rectifying it before it has time to mature and become chronic.
For those that are not quite sure as to how your back pain onset in the first place, figuring this out and then actioning a plan, through general posture awareness and exercise to strengthen your body in order to prevent an back pain again in the future.
Saving money for that deposit is no different. Identify the outgoings, cut those that can be cut, then strategizing a suitable way to save, to then take action so the dream can become a reality.
At Back To Health Wellness we understand the importance of both financial health and physical well-being. Just as it’s crucial to identify and address the root causes of back pain early on, it’s also essential to manage your finances wisely to achieve your goals, such as saving for a new home.
Our approach to back pain management focuses on identifying the underlying causes of your pain and developing a personalized plan to address them. The same way a financial planner can work with you to understand your financial concerns and create a plan to improve your financial health.
By taking proactive steps to address both your physical and financial well-being, you can work towards a healthier, more fulfilling life. If you’re experiencing back pain or would like to learn more about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us.