Your aching back ... and problem-solving? How's that again?

Problem-solving skill impacts soft tissue tension and, therefore, muscle and joint pain and stiffness. It may not be so obvious. But the connection is there.

Here's how it goes. As you become better at handling the in's and out's of daily life (big and small), your self-confidence increases.

Self-confidence, and your sense of personal authority, is reflected in your posture.

Personal authority refers to a state in which you are the agent that directs the activities of your own life. Not your mom, your boss, the group you hang with, your ex-spouse, or anybody else. You.

A keen observer of posture will be able to tell whether you direct your life or leave it up to someone else. Uh-oh! Yep, we humans are pretty transparent. Try it yourself next time you go to the mall.

Anyway, the more you gain control over your life circumstances, by becoming a better problem-solver, the healthier your posture becomes. (Remember this is a skill you can learn.)

And how does that affect your aching back? Well, quite simply, when your posture's off, you don't balance properly over your center of gravity. Your muscles and joints end up working overtime to hold you up and keep you moving.

That means pain. Muscles that are held in a state of chronic tension and joints under too much pressure. Aching. Stiffness. Joints and discs that wear out too fast. Bad news.

Not just back pain, but neck problems, headaches, unexplained achy muscles, unexplained fatigue and loss of energy, shoulder problems, hip pain and premature wear (often leading to surgery), premature wear of cervical and lumbar discs of the back (often leading to surgery), jaw pain, unexplained stiffness, "sciatica" and on and on and on.

Do I think that becoming a better problem-solver will, all by itself, solve all of those problems? Of course not. But if you've tried other strategies that haven't worked as well as you'd like, it just might be the missing piece.

Bottom line: your muscles and connective tissue are directed by three main controls

1. Direct injury or trauma
2. Uncontrolled stress or tension
3. Compensation for loss of proper movement, as a result of both numbers 1 and 2.

The ability to problem-solve effectively has a direct effect on both numbers 1 and 2 above. (Clear focus in life leads to less stress and fewer accidents.)

The self-confidence that comes from being an effective problem solver is an important key to creating good health. Brush up your skills and you'll be feeling better in no time.