Move Differently. Hurt Less. Here's the Science. Brain and Spine.
If back pain has become your undesirable daily companion, or you're just beginning to wonder whether your spine will hold up for life’s adventures ahead, here's some good news: science is getting more and more specific about what actually helps — and it involves your nervous system a lot more than you might expect.
YOUR BRAIN IS PART OF THE PAIN PROBLEM (AND THE SOLUTION)
The research has something valuable to say about this: back pain isn't always solely a structural issue. Much of what you feel is formed by how your nervous system manages pain signals — and that managing can be trained as the 2026 pilot study published in Pain Management by Billens and colleagues explains. They took a set of sedentary adults and put them through one of two 10-week exercise programs — one a moderate-paced running protocol, the other a harder-hitting strength program. Then researchers calculated how participants' nervous systems were handling pain. The outcomes? Individual responses suggested reduced pain inhibition following moderate-intensity training and enhanced pain inhibition after high-intensity training — meaning the higher-intensity group showed signs that their nervous systems got better at dampening pain signals. Small study, yes, but a persuasive early signal that how hard you exercise may influence how loudly your body broadcasts pain. (1) We want to you to know that this is new info, and that we encourage movement. Period. Walking is great! Maybe making more intense exercise would be a goal for you…or not! Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation is here to share interesting new info!
NOW, ABOUT YOUR SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (YES, THIS GETS INTERESTING!)
Okay, bear with us here — because this part is actually kind of wild. Your sympathetic nervous system is the part of your biology that kept your ancestors alive — always ready, always on alert. Useful when a bear is chasing you. Less useful when it's chronically activated by stress, poor sleep, and a sedentary lifestyle. Turns out, animal studies suggest that higher sympathetic nervous system activity can accelerate bone loss — and researchers think the same may be true in humans. (2) That's the basis behind CHILL BONES — yes, that's the real name of a real clinical trial — described in BMJ Open in 2025 by Collier, Beck, Sabapathy, and Weeks. The trial mixes high-intensity resistance and impact training with mind-body exercise (think: tai chi), examining whether calming the nervous system while loading the skeleton produces better bone and spinal outcomes than either method alone. Among the outcomes being tracked: lumbar spine bone mineral density. Mind-body exercise may be used to modify sympathetic activity, which could have an additive benefit for skeletal adaptation when used in conjunction with high-intensity resistance and impact training. The full results aren't in yet, but the thinking behind it is truly exciting. (2)
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOUR BACK?
Taken together, both studies are telling the same story: your spine, your nervous system, and how you move are all tangled up in each other. Pain isn't just mechanical. Bone health isn't just about calcium. And "just rest it" is rarely the answer. Chiropractic care works with that whole system — refining spinal alignment, lowering nervous system irritation, and getting you going in ways that are actually therapeutic rather than just exhausting.
CONTACT Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation
If your back has been speaking to you lately, maybe it's time to listen – to it and to this podcast with Dr. James Cox on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he shares the benefit of The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management as it affects the nervous system.
And then schedule your chiropractic appointment with Gormish Chiropractic & Rehabilitation. We'd love to help you build a spine that's strong, resilient, and a lot quieter.
