Stress has now become a common phrase in our everyday vocabulary. Numerous surveys and studies confirm that occupational pressures and fears are far and away the leading source of stress for American adults and that these have steadily increased over the past few decades. Symptoms of stress are usually associated with tension aches and pains and the side effects of overuse of analgesics has encouraged a search for natural pain remedies as a better alternative.

A comprehensive national survey conducted in 1990 revealed the following data with the percentages at an even higher figure today: · 40% of workers reported their job was very or extremely stressful · 25% view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives · 75% of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago · Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial or family problems Whether the causes are physical or emotional, some of the symptoms are common to both. Muscles in the shoulders, neck and back start to tighten and, if ignored, may go into spasm that sometimes results in displacement of the vertebrae.