Hi Paul.

Great question.

You’re very perceptive to notice this phenomenon. Your instincts are correct! People do carry stress in their upper back, shoulder, neck and head. The basic reason is that as a species, humans have binocular vision so we cannot see behind as other “prey” species such as rabbits, horses and etc. These animals have eyes positioned to the side of their head to see to the side and behind in order to view possible threats. Humans do not posses this quality. Secondly, predators generally attack from behind and bite the neck to speed the capture. So to protect attacks from behind, humans use muscles to move the shoulder blades toward the neck and lower the head to reduce exposure of the neck. So that’s why humans tend to develop upper back, shoulder, neck and head problems in relationship to stress. Although we no longer have saber-toothed tigers to create our stress, we do have events that create stress levels that are more constant in our busy life styles. However, this should not make pain or head aches. If this occurs, then there are greater problems than just stress, because stress is actually needed. That’s right, stress is needed. The reason is that living organism needs stress to encourage positive change. This is considered good stress. That is how evolution and the diverse changes we see in the world occurred. However, when you do not respond positively to stress of any type, you are experiencing bad stress. This type of stress has a negative impact on your total physiology and will make you sick. What I mean to say is that all organs will be negatively affected by bad stress. So what is a bad stress? Well anything. It is how the person and their body responds. So to one person a good stress could be a bad stress for another which will cause problems. Why do you think that there is so much disease in the world now as opposed to many years ago? That’s right…more people not being able to deal with stress in a positive way so the body becomes sick from the negative effects of bad stress. So what can be done? To start, I would identify the stress issues that are negatively impacting you. These could be simple to complex. Most bad stress issues are complex. This means that just talking about it is not enough. For instance, your stress handling hormones will change causing disease processes to begin. So why don’t blood tests show these problems before they become a symptom? Blood is a transport mechanism. When problems show up in the blood, the disease process has generally been going on for a while and has become severe enough to show up in the blood.
Let me ask you a question…do you wait until your tooth abscesses before you brush your teeth? Do you wait until your motor in your car blows up before changing the oil? No we don’t! We know that catching a problem before it breaks is a better way. So too with your health. You must protect the physiology as a means to promote wellness. I measure physiology to identify issues before they become cases requiring prescription drugs. I use specific laboratory testing and examinations to evaluate your functional physiology. I then prescribe nutrients that will normalize the problems. We have other rehabilitative services and machines to provide a comprehensive solution to your problems.
You can contact me via the web site, cl-chiro.com.

Dr Bob.