Injured or Struggling to Recover? Stress Can’t be Ignored
The silent killer makes it harder for our bodies to heal
Given we are past the one-year mark of a global pandemic, stress is not hard to find. Take the pandemic away, and we still have jobs, family life, politics, and sports (I can attest as a Dolphins fan) to heighten our stress.
There is a reason stress is referred to as the silent killer. Stress does more than deteriorate health over a long period of time, however. It has a an immediate effect on our ability to heal. But hope is not lost.
There are many research-backed strategies that can be employed to address these effects. They aren’t just theoretical. I have seen them work well in my clinics.
The relationship between stress and our health
As a physical therapist, I assess stress levels with each patient. Without it, my timelines for recovery would be marginal guesses at best. The road to recovery for any type of injury becomes a steeper climb as stress piles on.
Studies assessing wound healing models and outcomes show there is an average correlation of 0.42 between psychological stress and wound healing. That value is a moderate correlation, indicating a relationship is present.
