When it comes to coffee, we’re used to reading articles around its perceived health benefits or stressors. Or, if like me, you dwell around the northern parts of Melbourne you can recognise ‘roast’ lingo when someone drops cold-drip, magic or piccolo latte. But something which you may not be as familiar with is the connection between coffee and back pain.
Many of us reach for that morning cup of joe to get the energy hit to get our day rolling or simply enjoy the ritual of it.
And whilst many of us have a job which requires us to either sit all day or require more physical exertion, the effects of this, combined with caffeine intake, may be the culprit behind chronic back pain.
What happens to our body when we consume our cup of joe?
Whilst excess cortisol causes connective tissues to become inflamed, a combination of these three effects can exasperate areas of pain in the body.
The sum of parts is greater than the whole
This isn’t another article urging you to switch your morning coffee to whisk up some Matcha tea but consider how dietary factors may be turning up in your body. If you’re someone with chronic back pain who is currently consuming more than 1 cup of coffee a day and suffering from anxiety and poor sleep, then try cutting back your caffeine consumption to see if this alleviates some of the discomfort you’re experiencing.
Its about taking a holistic approach
Whilst it’s still important to keep working with your chiropractor to help bring your body back to a state of alignment, there are sometimes more than one factor we can look at.