Exercise, sex, talking ease financial pain

NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Back, neck or shoulder pain could be increasing due to the financial crisis but exercise, talk and sex could bring relief, a U.S. pain specialist says.

Dr. Norman Marcus, director of muscle pain research at the New York University School of Medicine, said the financial meltdown is causing millions to worry about losing their jobs, homes and retirement savings and that stress and tension are major causes of most common back and neck pain.

"When you're tense, anxious, fearful or angry, your back, shoulder and neck muscles contract and prolonged contraction of muscles as a result of stress and tension can cause pain severe enough to impair you," Marcus says in a statement. "But there are strategies you can use to relieve that pain."

Marcus says the most effective physical activities are those that discharge pent-up energy and break a sweat -- a brisk walk, jogging, bike ride, swimming, gym workout and sex as well as talking with someone you trust.

"Talking it over with someone you trust can work wonders," Marcus says in a statement. "You're only as tense as your unexpressed anxieties and fears. Each specific emotion has a muscle counterpart, a physical posture reflected in our body language or facial expressions."