12/12/2025
Day 12 of our LOHC 2025 advent calendar of conditions we treat🎄
So many of us, rightly or wrongly, associate Christmas with Stress just because there feels like there is so much to do - but how is this felt in the body?
Upper back tension
Patients often present with tension in the upper back (thoracic spine) or the ‘upper traps’ region, across the tops of the shoulders.💥
If we are rushing around and feeling ‘stressed’ we hold our muscles tighter than we should and keep our shoulder up near our ears!
Test yourself – next time you’re out rushing around ask yourself where your shoulder are in relation to your ears! - pop your answer in the comments below and lets see how many of us are carrying our tension in our shoulders?
Whilst muscles can work like this for a short period of time over longer periods they fatigue or become inflamed, the upper back area becomes less mobile making the muscles work even harder!
So while we don’t treat the stress itself, although we may help you recognise the effect it is having - we do relax the muscles with massage and mobilise the restricted joints allowing everything to move more freely and in turn you feel more comfortable.
Along with the treatment there are some simple exercises that you can incorporate into daily life to help keep things moving in future.
If you can relate to the above and would like further advice please contact us
01538 388333
info@leeksosteopaths.com
