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4 Stretches For Instant Back Pain Relief

 

 

Over 31 million Americans complain of back pain every year. But this isn’t a uniquely American problem. Worldwide, back pain is the biggest cause of disability. If you suffer from back pain, it probably impacts many parts of your life. That’s why we have gathered four stretches that will help with immediate relief of your back pain, as well as strategies to help manage your back pain long term. (1)

The Two Types of Back Pain

Back pain can be divided into two major types. Each of these types requires different approaches and different types of care. However, stretching can be beneficial no matter what type of pain you suffer from.

Acute Back Pain

Acute back pain is the type of pain that occurs suddenly. Usually, it clears up after a few hours, days, or weeks. Acute back pain usually occurs due to issues in the joints, ligaments, muscles, and discs. Simple treatments you can do at home, such as rest, compresses, or exercises — like the ones here — will generally be effective in clearing the pain up. (2)

Chronic Back Pain

Chronic back pain is pain that lasts for three or more months. Chronic back pain can remain steady or fluctuate in intensity. Generally, the causes of chronic back pain are more severe, such as arthritis, nerve damage, or tissue scarring. Chronic back pain often requires more intense treatments to help relieve pain, although self-care routines, such as stretching, are often beneficial. (2)

The Benefits of Exercise for Treating Back Pain

It might seem obvious — stretching your back can help with back pain. However, back pain is not that simple. A wide variety of exercises can help with back pain — and some can hurt. 

You may know that proper lifting techniques and posture are essential to good back health. Therefore, exercises that target your legs and abdomen, as well as your back, can help prevent back pain. 

It is recommended that, after most back injuries, you keep your level of physical exertion as close to normal as possible. However, not every exercise is good for your back. Improper exercises can contribute to further injury. In addition to working out those three large muscle groups — back, legs, and abdomen — it is important that your exercises keep your spine in a straight line and do not put any unnecessary weight on it. (2, 3)

The Stretches

Below are four stretches that should help relieve your back pain quickly. Of course, stretches alone are not enough to “fix” back pain — especially if it is chronic. However, adding these stretches into your routine helps to strengthen those muscles and help protect them in the future, as well as instant pain management. (4)

Check out the video here: 

Before You Begin

It is important to warm up a little before stretching your muscles. Generally, you should warm up with light exercise, like a jog or bike ride. However, if you are unable to do physical exercise beforehand, for any reason, there are other options. The purpose of warm up is to get the blood flowing to your muscles. By using a sauna or taking a hot bath or shower, you can get that blood flowing as well. (4)

Hip Flexor Stretch

This is also known as a low lunge. From an all fours position, step your left foot forward between your hands so that your knee forms a 90-degree angle with the floor.

Bring your torso to vertical with arms up by the ears, or interlace your fingers and place the hands on your left knee, or leave your fingertips on the mat. Push your hips gently forward. Take pressure off the back knee by pressing the top of the back foot straight down into the mat. This action will also deepen the stretch in the hip flexor. Hold the stretch for 15 seconds before relaxing out of it. Do three on each side. (4)

Gluteal Stretch

Lay on your back and cross your right leg over your left knee. Pull your knees toward your chest. Breathe deeply and hold the stretch for 15 seconds. Pull the knees a little closer to your chest if possible, and hold for another fifteen seconds. Do three sets on each side. (4)

Piriformis Stretch

Laying on your back, stretch out your left leg. Clasp your right knee, bringing it across the body toward your left shoulder. The piriformis can be very tight so you might find this to be a deep stretch. Be sure to relax your hold if you feel pinching. Hold for fifteen seconds, breathe, and see if you can bring your knee a little closer to your shoulder. Hold for another 15 seconds. Do three sets on each side. (4)

Jackknife Stretch

Sit on the ground, with your legs extended and your knees locked. Lean forward from your lower back towards your toes, trying to touch them. If you need to put a belt or a rope around your feet to aid in the stretch, that’s fine, as long as you aren’t pulling. Once you’re touching your toes, or close, put your forehead down towards your knees. Take a deep breath, seeing if you can stretch a little further. You don’t need to hold this stretch, just slowly let go of your toes and move back to the starting position. Do three sets. (4)

Other Ways To Help With Back Pain

  • Eat well
  • Exercise consistently
  • Maintain a healthy weight
  • Maintain good posture
  • Stop smoking
  • Don’t wear high-heeled shoes

(1)

F. A. Q. 

Q: What amount of exercise will help my back?

A: You should aim for an absolute minimum of 15 minutes per day, although 30 is a better minimum number. (3)

Q: What sort of mattress should I be using?

A: The best mattress for good back health is a medium firmness. (1)

Q: Should I keep exercising if it hurts?
A: No! You should always stick within your comfort zone while exercising. While it’s normal to feel slight discomfort, you should not ever be in pain while working out. (3)

Sources:

#1: https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/health/million-americans-experience-low-back-pain-at-any-given-time/article_752b754e-0156-11e8-ac51-2fa3ce942563.html

#2: https://www.mayfieldclinic.com/pe-backpain.htm

#3: https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/backexercises.html 

#4: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1L4sO_E19EQ (VIDEO)

 

Stuck At Home? How To Relieve Back Pain

Today society is plagued by back problems. With so many bent over their computers, tablets, or other devices, back and neck pain have become a common malady. According to Dr. Devon Rubin from the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, 80% of the population will suffer some type of back pain during their lifetime. Back pain is one of the most common reasons people go to the doctor or miss work, and it is a leading cause of disability worldwide. (1)

The back is a complex structure of bone and muscle, supported by cartilage, tendons, and ligaments, and fed by a network of blood vessels and nerves. The back, especially the lumbar, or lower back, bears much of the body’s weight. Consequently, this area of the back is prime for tension and injury resulting in pain, discomfort, and stress on your daily lifestyle. Back pain can range from a muscle aching to a shooting, burning, or stabbing sensation. In addition, the pain may radiate down your leg or worsen with bending, twisting, lifting, standing, or walking. (2)

There are some exercises or stretches you can do at home on a daily basis to help with chronic back pain. Ian Hart, co-founder of Back Pain Relief for Life, has developed four exercises that have been shown to greatly relieve back pain. He also demonstrates these in his video:

Before starting, it is a good idea to warm up first by taking a hot shower. This stimulates your circulation and relaxes your muscles so you avoid injury. It can also increase the relief you get from these exercises. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes that do not restrict your movement. To get started, Ian recommends you first do some deep relaxing using the following technique.

RELAXATION TECHNIQUE

Lay on your back on the floor. Use a mat for more comfort. Support your head with a pillow or rolled towel under your neck. Bend your knees so your feet are flat on the floor and about a foot from your rear end. This position is biomechanically correct for your spine, relieving stress and allowing your back to relax in comfort. This is the starting position for the first three exercises.

Now take a deep breath into your belly. Hold the breath in for 10 seconds while tensing up every muscle you can in your body. This triggers the release of chemicals in the brain that are part of the parasympathetic nervous system which is responsible for rest and relaxation. These chemicals help reduce respirations, lower blood pressure, and slow down heart rate. If you have heart problems, check with your doctor first before doing this relaxation technique. (3)

Do this once, then relax your whole body. Become consciously aware of where you are holding tension in your face and body. Many people hold tension in their back and are not aware of it so really focus on your back, especially your lower back as you relax. You should feel the tension easing. Muscle tension can lead to pain. It can also put pressure on your nerves which can exacerbate the pain. Pain then causes us to tense up our muscles more. This can become a vicious cycle.  Routinely doing back exercises while strengthening your core and back muscles can significantly help to reduce your back pain. Try the following routine from Back Pain Relief for Life.

FOUR BACK EXERCISES

  1. Knee Pull: Lie on your back in the starting position described above, with knees bent. Be sure to keep your head and neck relaxed. Keeping your arms at your sides, stretch one leg out onto the floor, then draw it slowly to your chest, then lower back down to the floor. Tighten your abs with each movement. Feel the pull of the muscles and the work of the hip flexors.  Do 3 sets of 8 repetitions per leg.
  2. Clam or Knee Drop: Begin in the starting position, then drop your bent right leg to the side as far as you can, feeling a slight pull in the inner thigh while squeezing your glute. Keep your back flat on the floor. This opens up the pelvis where many of us hold a lot of tension. Do 8 repetitions on the right and then switch to the left for 8 repetitions. Do 3 sets.
  3. Single Frog Leg: This is a combo of the first two movements. It helps loosen up and lubricate the hip. From the same starting position, knees bent, bring one knee to your chest then rotate to the side then circle around to straighten the leg before pulling it back to a bent knee position. Do 3 sets of 8 repetitions with each leg.
  4. Chrysalis or Butterfly: This is a stretching exercise. Take a sitting position with soles of the feet together so that your legs are open like a butterfly’s wings. Clasp your hands around your feet and pull your heels as close to your groin as is comfortable. Keeping your back straight, send your heart forward and draw your torso down towards your feet. You will feel a stretch in your inner thighs. Hold for 12 seconds. Do this three times, relaxing between each forward stretch.

According to Ian Hart, most back pain is due to an imbalance in the muscles. Imbalanced muscles occur when one side of your back is positioned differently from the other side. This can happen without our awareness. For example, when hunched over your computer, your front muscles become shorter and tighter while your back muscles which support your spine become stretched. This puts pressure and stress on your joints, ligaments, and tendons around your pelvis, hips, and spine. This restricts blood from delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles. The result is stress and pain in your lower back. Repetitive work in imbalanced positions like this leads to chronic back pain. By rebalancing your back muscles, long-term relief is possible. Additional benefits can include better posture, enhanced balance, and more flexibility. (4)

Watch Ian’s video and give these easy exercises a try. Your back will thank you!

SOURCES

  1. Rubin D.l. Epidemiology and Risk Factors for Spine Pain. Neurol Clin. 2007; May;25(2):353-71.

  2. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10265-back-strains-and-sprains
  3. https://www.healthline.com/health/parasympathetic-nervous-system
  4. https://mybackpaincoach.com/fb/bpr4l/vsl/default/?hop=freed0m44&vendor=mbpc84

Craving Salty, Sweet, Fatty And Fried Food? It Could Be Your Hormones

When we think of a “vice”, we might think of a habit such as smoking, drinking, or gambling. But what about food as a vice? Can one’s diet be looked at as a bad habit, or just a trivial failing? 

Just like certain vices, eating food that is ultimately bad for us is often a lot more fun while it’s happening… it’s not as enjoyable a few hours later when we collapse in a food coma.

Consequences from giving in to our food cravings can be quite varied. Perhaps you have heard a person say that they lose weight when they are stressed out, while others may proclaim they put on weight when faced with the same predicament. 

There is a reason for this, and it often comes down to hormones. (3)

Cortisol And Food Cravings

Stress can suppress our appetite in the short term. The nervous system instructs the adrenal glands, which are located on top of the kidneys, to release the hormone epinephrine (also known as adrenaline). Epinephrine aids in the activation of the body’s fight-or-flight reflex, a heightened physiological condition that temporarily halts the feeling of wanting to eat. (1,3,4,15)

But it’s a different story if tension continues. Feelings of anger, envy, defeat, and other negative emotions activate the cortex of the adrenal gland, which then releases the hormone cortisol.

Cortisol levels can (and should) drop after a stressful episode, but if the stress or bad feeling doesn’t go away – or if a person’s stress response is stuck in the “on” position – cortisol levels may stay high. (1, 3, 4 )

Cortisol also increases motivation in general (including motivation to eat.) Cortisol can make us crave salty, sweet, and fried foods, which provide a rush of energy and pleasure. The more uncontrolled tension we have in our lives, the more likely we are to seek emotional relief through food. (1, 2)

This is not dangerous in small doses, however, prolonged resentments, fear or sadness, or any similar affiliated feelings can produce so much cortisol that our physical health can also be affected. (1)

The Emotional Link 

The excess, or surplus stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline mentioned above, can enter the arterial system, contributing to the formation of plaque build-up. This is a second catch, whereby depression and stress can promote obesity by altering metabolic responses to high-fat meals in ways that promote obesity. (2, 6, 15)

We burn fewer calories if we are stressed than if we are not stressed, after eating a high-fat meal. Researchers claim that having one or more stressful events the day before consuming only one high-fat meal (the kind we’re most likely to consume while stressed) can slow the body’s metabolism to the point where we can gain up to eleven pounds in a year. (3, 5, 6)

We’ve all been in situations where we turn to comfort food to ease our emotional pain. But with stress at the root of certain cravings, it can be a vicious cycle. (10)

What Do You Reach For?

Out of all our favorite food vices: salty, sweet, fatty, or fried, many of us have one particular craving. Turns out there are logical reasons as to why:

  1. Animal studies from the University of Florida show eating salt reduces the amount of stress hormones including cortisol produced during psychological stress. According to one of the lead researchers, Eric Krause, Ph.D., a similar effect occurs in humans as well. (7,8)
  2. Some of the stress-relieving properties of sweet foods appear to depend on its pleasurable and rewarding properties, particularly when it is offered in limited amounts. In one study, rats who were given brief access to a small amount of palatable sucrose solution significantly reduced their cortisol secretion in response to an acute stress condition. (6,7,9,10)
  3. Another hormone, ghrelin – the so-called “hunger hormone” – activates a primal reaction from our caveman days, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. Hunger hormone-induced cravings gave our forefathers a survival advantage since they consumed high-calorie foods that made them more effective hunters. We don’t need the extra calories nowadays because we don’t have to forage for food anymore. (12, 14)

Healthy Alternatives 

Unhealthy foods are often convenient, tempting, and abundant. Here are some healthy alternatives:

  1. A healthy snack for salt cravings could be sprinkling some sea salt on slices of cucumber, carrots, or tomatoes to get a salty, crunchy fix without worrying about your waistline. (5) 
  2. Instead of chocolate or another sticky cake, try fruit instead. If still not sweet enough, try adding a substitute such as honey, stevia, or agave nectar, to kick that craving. (9, 11)
  3. Try new foods such as tempura, schnitzel, different fish, or perhaps yam – instead of potatoes. Always grill or bake food, or invest in a healthy air-fryer. (13)

Cortisol and Food Cravings Can Affect The Immune System 

Natural killer (NK) cells are one of the leukocyte subsets that are responsive to physiological and psychological stress. In other words, NK cells act as watchdogs over our immune system. When necessary, they destroy dangerous and abnormal cells in our bodies. (16)

Our health is threatened from within when too much cortisol is released by the adrenal gland. Too much cortisol diminishes the power of our immune systems by depressing the natural killer cells. (16)

So as well as keeping our weight down to stay healthy, it’s important to know that by keeping our cortisol levels from rising (and staying there), our immune system benefits also. (1, 16)

How To De-Stress And Re-balance Cortisol

We live in a stressful world. Here are some tips to stay emotionally sound:

  • Keep an emotional eating diary to identify any triggers 
  • Get plenty of sleep 
  • Examine deeply any emotional problems, or seek therapy if needed 
  • Meditate
  • Get regular exercise. Try Tai-Chi, Yoga, or Pilates 
  • Find a creative hobby you enjoy such as poetry, painting, writing, or journaling 
  • Make sure you have a social support system 
  • Have a belief in something sacred, holy, or spiritual 
  • Cultivate gratitude 
  • Find humor in everyday situations (1, 2, 4)

We are all ultimately responsible for our good health. There are many things we can do to fortify our body’s natural immune system to ward off disease, slow down degenerative aging processes, and deal with stress more effectively. Keeping ourselves healthier by not giving in to our hunger hormones is a perfect place to start.

This may be a big hurdle to cross when initially starting to eat healthier, but the benefits of simple and powerful concepts regarding how to recognize and ignore food cravings can be well worth it to stay in control of our health.

Sources:

  1. https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/stresscortisol.html 
  2. http://www.umusa.net/wellnessprograms/medicalweightloss/handouts/Emotional%20Eating.pdf 
  3. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-stress-can-make-you-eat-more-or-not-at-all/ 
  4. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/why-stress-causes-people-to-overeat 
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25034950/ 
  6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214609/ 
  7. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110405175012.htm 
  8. https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19523294/why-you-crave-salty-snacks-when-youre-stressed/ 
  9.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4787559/ 
  10.  https://www.pnas.org/content/107/47/20529 
  11. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/natural-sugar-substitutes 
  12. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/usmc-gli062211.php 
  13. https://www.healthcastle.com/healthy-alternatives-world-famous-fried-foods/ 
  14. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5373497/ 
  15. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/adrenal-glands
  16. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0188108 

The Ultimate Guide To Emotional Eating

Where the subject of emotional eating is concerned, one might conjure an image of a person lying on the couch, shades drawn, wrapped in a blanket, eating ice cream—a heartbroken person, finding solace at the bottom of a pint of sweet frozen dessert goodness. 

The majority of us have likely been there at least once. But it is a different matter altogether when emotional eating is constant through each day. At that point, it is considered a disorder.

What is Emotional Eating? 

Emotional eating refers to the act of consuming food when you are not hungry. When individuals find themselves reaching for food because of stress, depression, fear, boredom, sadness, or loneliness, it is regarded as an unhealthy coping mechanism.  

And unfortunately, much of the time, the type of foods people tend to reach are junk foods high in saturated fat and sweets. So, in addition to eating when not hungry, emotional eaters tend to consume foods that are not good for them, which piles on a feeling of guilt that only increases the chances of more emotional eating.

In other words, it is a vicious cycle. 

It’s an unpleasant situation that arises, triggering a conflicted emotion. The individual looks for solace in food and finds momentary comfort in it. Later in the day, regret appears, which is another unpleasant situation, triggering them to seek food again, to soothe the emotions. 

Emotional eaters may not listen to their body’s signal that they are full, causing them to overeat.  This can undermine weight loss efforts, keeping emotional eaters in an endless loop of guilt and despair. 

It certainly can be a challenging cycle to break, but it’s not impossible. 

What are signs of emotional eating?

Every once in a while, we may eat for other reasons besides hunger. However, when eating becomes the go-to coping mechanism for negative emotions, it presents a problem.  

Some signs of using food to conceal emotional distress are:

  • Change of eating habits when stress arises.
  • Use of food as compensation for going through some difficult times at work, school, home, etc.
  • Eating even if you are feeling full or not hungry.
  • Using food to avoid dealing with unpleasant circumstances.
  • Utilizing food as a way to ease painful feelings.

The Role of Hormones in Emotional Eating 

Indeed, the way we deal with emotions affects multiple aspects of us, some mental, some physical. Difficult situations do not affect everyone in the same way. However, hormones can play an essential role in how we feel and the way we deal with problems. 

Cortisol and Emotional Eating 

A study conducted among pre-menopausal women showed that excessive cortisol levels produce more food cravings, especially those high in fat and sugar content. (1)

Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal glands: small triangle-shaped organs sitting above the kidneys. Cortisol is the body’s natural alarm system; it stimulates your body’s fight-or-flight response when problems come up. However, cortisol plays a crucial role in other essential functions such as:

  • Lowering inflammation levels.
  • Regulating blood pressure.
  • Increasing blood sugar.
  • Managing the use of fat, proteins, and carbohydrates.
  • Regulating sleep 
  • Boosting energy, thereby helping to handle stress better.

However, when cortisol levels are too high due to chronic stress, it can cause various problems in the body like: 

  • Rapid weight gain localized in the abdomen, chest, and face while legs and arms are slender.
  • Higher blood pressure.
  • Decrease bone density,  increasing the risk of osteoporosis. 
  • Changes in the skin, exhibiting bruises and purple stretch marks
  • Slow wound healing due to weakening of the immunity and inflammatory body responses.
  • Mood swings.
  • Suppressed thyroid function.

When stress reaches chronic levels, it can also trigger feelings like anxiety, apathy, anger, and depression. The combination of these feelings impacts the emotional nervous system that controls our reactions. Research has shown that individuals with higher cortisol levels when battling with negative emotions use food, especially “comfort food”  as a form of self-medication. This behavior creates an emotional eating cycle that aggravates their existent chronic stress. (2, 3)

How to Stop Emotional Eating?

As with any other disorder, emotional eating has no “one approach that fits all” cure. It is more like a combination of tools and recommendations that people can use to gain control over their physical and emotional health. 

Keep a Food Journal 

Journaling can be a powerful device to create awareness around which situations trigger you to eat emotionally. You can write what you were doing/feeling before eating. The idea is to discern patterns in your emotional eating.

Use a Hunger Scale

Creating a hunger scale can help you differentiate between physical hunger and the hunger triggered by an emotion. For example, when hunger arises, rate it with a number from 1 to 10, where one is really hungry, and ten is when you feel satisfied. 

Hot Yoga 

Yoga is a practice that aims to improve not only your physical condition but also your mental state. One study explored the relation between yoga, cortisol levels, and emotional eating. 

Researchers studied a group of women between the ages of 25 and 46 years old who participated in eight-week hot yoga practice. These women had elevated cortisol levels, struggled with emotional eating, and were at higher risk of obesity. At the end of the study, scientists concluded that the yoga program positively impacted the participants. They presented lower cortisol levels, which also help to manage their emotional eating. (4)

Start A Food Diary

Some people find that a food diary can be challenging to integrate into a daily routine, but it really can be enlightening and rewarding. Keeping an inventory of everything we consume can make us more mindful of what we choose to put into our bodies. It can also help make healthier food choices easy, making nourishment a snap for our bodies and minds.

Integrate Relaxation Tools

Keeping stress under control means that we can affect our emotional reactions and the body’s hormonal responses, triggering emotional eating.   

Practicing mindfulness meditation or any other meditation technique can help. Simple breathing techniques have been shown to reduce excess cortisol in trial participants. (5)

Emotional eating can be a tricky thing to live with, but plenty of tools are available to help ease the burden. 

Sources:

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17198744/
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214609/
  3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306453012002995
  4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26963599/
  5. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27995346/

The Ultimate Guide to Estrogen

We don’t often think about the millions of microelements that make up our bodies. Even the simplest of actions can take a group effort involving one or more of the many bodily systems that keep us humming along. One of the oft-involved systems is the endocrine system which uses glands to produce hormones to send messages to organs and tissues.

What are Hormones?

Hormones are vital chemical molecules produced by glands that act as messengers. Hormones travel through the bloodstream, connecting with receptors that affect certain cells. Hormones help to regulate:  

  • Metabolism
  • Growth and development
  • Mood
  • Reproduction
  • Sexual function 
  • Respiration 

On the other hand, when hormones are out of balance, it can cause conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disorders, or Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). (1)

What is Estrogen?

Estrogen, often thought of as a hormone found in women’s bodies, is actually present in males and females. However, this hormone is crucial for women as it is one of the two main sex hormones in the female body. Estrogen is responsible for sexual development in women. It regulates the menstrual cycle and has a central role in the female reproductive system from puberty to menopause. 

Why is Estrogen Important?

Estrogen assists the transition through puberty into womanhood, regulates the menstrual cycle, and helps in the birthing process. But also has a significant influence on:

  • The reproductive system
  • The cardiovascular system
  • The urinary tract
  • The musculoskeletal system
  • Breasts, skin, and hair
  • Pelvic muscles
  • Cognitive health (2)

How Does Estrogen Work?

The majority of estrogen is produced in the ovaries, and some small amounts come from the adrenal glands and fat cells.  After, estrogen is sent through the bloodstream to every part of the body. 

Types of Estrogen 

Your body makes three main types of estrogen: 

  • Estradiol. Produced in both females and males. It is the most common type of sex hormone in women of childbearing age.  
  • Estrone. Present throughout the body after menopause. It’s a weak type of estrogen, which can be converted to a different kind of estrogen if necessary. 
  • Estriol. It is made from the placenta. It is present during pregnancy. It helps the uterus grow and prepares the body for delivering a child. 

Why Do Your Estrogen Levels Matter?

While it is natural that estrogen levels fluctuate before, after, and during the menstrual cycle in a woman’s lifetime, it is critical to pay attention to specific changes that can indicate an estrogen imbalance. Also, keep in mind that estrogen levels are different for everyone. Therefore, it is a serious matter to pay close attention to sudden changes. Physicians may recommend you get your blood and urine tested to evaluate your estrogen levels.

Low and High Estrogen

It is usual for girls before puberty and women close to menopause to exhibit low levels of estrogen. Additionally, high estrogen levels in girls going through puberty and healthy pregnant women are also considered normal. However, when estrogen is present in high or low levels outside this phase, it can create a hormonal imbalance which can develop in medical conditions.

Low Estrogen Symptoms 

Low levels of estrogen show in women bodies in a variety of signs like:

  • Irregular or absent menstrual periods.
  • Dryness of the vagina, which can cause pain during intercourse.
  • Mood swings and trouble sleeping.
  • Thinning of the urethra that can cause frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs).
  • Night sweats and hot flashes.
  • Exacerbation of headaches and/or migraines.
  • Dry skin, breast tenderness.
  • Difficulty concentrating, fatigue, and depression. 

Furthermore, some studies have revealed that estrogen deficiency could lower bone density, as estrogen works together with vitamin D, calcium, and other vitamins to keep bones strong. (3)

What Causes Low Estrogen?

As estrogen is mainly produced in the ovaries, anything that affects them can influence estrogen levels. Some of the most common causes for estrogen levels to fall are:

  • Eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa
  • Extreme exercise and training
  • Hypopituitarism (low function of the pituitary gland)
  • Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)
  • Chronic kidney disease
  • Perimenopause and Menopause

Besides these possible causes, some risk factors increase the chance of reducing estrogen levels, such as:

  • Age, the older women get, the less estrogen their ovaries produce
  • Family history of hormonal problems
  • Pituitary gland problems
  • Extreme dieting and exercise regimes

Diagnosis and Treatment

If women are experiencing one or more symptoms, it is advisable that they consult their doctor for further analysis. In most cases, the physician will conduct a series of exams, like blood work, to test your estrone and estradiol levels. They will also evaluate your family medical history and symptoms to help arrive at a diagnosis. 

Keep in mind that not all women that have low levels of estrogen need to undergo treatment. However, if the symptoms provoke discomfort, treatment based on the individual’s specific causes may be recommended. The most used approaches to treat this condition are Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) or Estrogen Therapy.  

High Estrogen Symptoms

Excess levels of estrogen can affect females, which may show one or more of the following symptoms:

  • Irregular menstrual periods, light spotting, or heavy bleeding 
  • Weight gain and/or bloating
  • Mood changes, anxiety, and panic attacks
  • Swollen and tenderness of the breast
  • Increase the severity of PMS (premenstrual syndrome) symptoms
  • Fibrocystic lumps in breasts and uterine fibroids
  • Memory and sleeping problems
  • Low sex drive
  • Cold hands and feet

What Causes High Estrogen Levels?

Estrogen levels can arise naturally. Additionally, the body may produce less of other hormones like testosterone or progesterone, resulting in a hormonal imbalance. If the estrogen levels are significantly higher than the progesterone levels is known as estrogen predominance. 

Furthermore, some drugs like steroid medications, certain antibiotics, phenothiazines used to treat mental illness diseases, and estrogen-containing medicines to treat menopause may cause higher estrogen levels. (4)

Treatment for High Estrogen Levels

Keep in mind that it is vital to seek popper treatment earlier to avoid the development of severe health conditions. High levels of estrogen may be associated with thyroid dysfunction. Also, a study showed that estrogen dominance is associated with a higher risk of blood clots and stroke. (5)

Your doctor may give you different options to manage the rising levels of estrogen or estrogen dominance. They may prescribe medications, surgery, or recommend adjustments to your existing diet.  

Sources:

  1. https://www.hormone.org/what-is-endocrinology/the-endocrine-system
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4491541/
  3. https://asbmr.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1359/jbmr.2002.17.1.172
  4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/birth-control/in-depth/best-birth-control-pill/art-20044807
  5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4275797/