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How to Protect Your Body, Reduce Stress, and Stay Pain-Free After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving marks more than the beginning of the holiday season—it’s also the time of year when Americans dramatically increase their physical and emotional workload. Between long shopping days, lifting bags, long drives, rich meals, and packed calendars, the holiday period places serious strain on the musculoskeletal and nervous systems.

“Our bodies can tolerate a little more than our daily baseline,” says Dr. Scott Bautch, past president of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) Council on Occupational Health. “But they do not adapt well to doing a lot more than usual. The increased physical, nutritional, and emotional demands of the season can push the body past its capacity.”

Below are evidence-supported, clinically guided strategies to help keep you and your loved ones pain-free and healthy all season.

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1. Treat Holiday Shopping Like an Athletic Event

Holiday shopping mimics low-intensity endurance sports. Extended walking, long standing periods, carrying loads, and repetitive reaching can overwork the joints, soft tissues, and spine—especially if the body isn’t prepared.

Aim for 8–10 glasses of water per day, and more on physically intense days.

Why this matters: Dehydration reduces spinal disc water content and increases compressive load—raising low-back pain risk [1]. Muscles also fatigue faster when dehydrated, increasing cramping and strain [2]. Caffeinated drinks (coffee, soda, tea) and alcohol do not replace water.

Stretch Before and After Shopping

Stress increases sympathetic nervous system activity, making muscles tighter and less flexible.

Stretching improves circulation and reduces muscle fatigue [3].

Recommended:

Hard mall floors create high impact forces that travel up the kinetic chain. According to APMA research, 60% of women wear shoes without adequate support, contributing to knee, hip, and back pain [4].

Choose:

  • Cushioned soles

  • Arch support

  • Wide toe box

Carry Less Weight

Swap heavy purses for fanny packs or light backpacks. Asymmetric carrying increases spinal disc pressure and triggers neck and shoulder strain [5].

Stop Pain Early

If pain starts, apply ice for 20 minutes. Cold therapy reduces nerve conduction and inflammation mediators [6].

2. Plan Frequent Breaks Into Your Shopping Day

Fatigue decreases postural stability and increases the risk of strains and overuse injuries.

How Often to Rest

  • Most adults: every 45 minutes

  • Lower stamina: every 20–30 minutes

Breaks reduce cumulative spinal load and improve tissue oxygenation [5].

Use Lockers or Your Car

Reducing how much weight you carry lowers compressive forces on your lumbar discs [5].

Choose Light Foods

Avoid heavy meals during mid-shopping breaks. They slow digestion and increase fatigue.

Heart attacks occur significantly more often during holiday periods due to heavy eating + stress + exertion [7].

Better choices:

  • Fresh fruit

  • Salads

  • Yogurt

  • Nuts

  • Lean protein snacks

Skip Caffeinated Pick-Me-Ups

Coffee and soda elevate cortisol, increase dehydration, and worsen stress reactivity.

3. Shopping With Children

Children fatigue quickly, and physical fatigue leads to increased fall risk, emotional frustration, and wandering in crowded areas. Carrying bags + managing kids shifts your posture into forward flexion and rounded shoulders—leading to upper-back and neck strain.

Whenever possible:

  • Trade childcare shifts with a partner or friend

  • Shop during hours when you are rested and unhurried

  • Avoid peak-traffic times

“As your load goes up, your attention goes down,” Dr. Bautch explains—a combination that increases risk in busy environments.

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Gift wrapping often involves awkward positions, prolonged spinal flexion, and looking down—major contributors to neck and back tension.

Change Positions Frequently

The body tolerates variety better than prolonged static posture.

Good options:

  • Standing at a counter

  • Sitting at a table

  • Ergonomic chair with back support

Avoid:

  • Sitting on the floor

  • Twisting while reaching

  • Long periods of forward bending

Stretch After Wrapping

Use “opposite-direction stretching”:

  • If you spent time bent forward, gently extend backward.

  • If your neck was flexed downward, perform chin tucks and scapular retractions.

Sustained flexion increases disc strain and sensitizes spinal joints [8].

5. Why Chiropractic Care Helps During the Holiday Season

Holiday stress intensifies:

  • spinal compression

  • muscular tension

  • nerve irritation

  • headaches

  • sleep disruption

  • reduced immunity

Chiropractic care helps by:

  • restoring proper joint motion

  • reducing muscle hypertonicity

  • improving posture

  • enhancing circulation

  • calming sympathetic overdrive via improved biomechanical function

Patients receiving chiropractic care report improved pain control, mobility, and overall well-being [9].

References

[1] Adams MA, Dolan P. Spine biomechanics and hydration. Spine Journal.

[2] Judelson DA et al. Hydration and muscle performance. Journal of Athletic Training.

[3] Behm DG et al. Stretching and muscle fatigue. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism.

[4] American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) Footwear Study.

[5] Wilke H et al. Disc pressure and physical loading. Clinical Biomechanics.

[6] Bleakley CM et al. Cryotherapy effectiveness. British Journal of Sports Medicine.

[7] Circulation Journal. Holiday cardiac event trends.

[8] McGill SM. Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation.

[9] Goertz C et al. Clinical outcomes of chiropractic care. Spine Journal.


Nawan Chittasevi

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