Stress-Related Back Pain: Is It Even Possible?

Stress causes a lot of discomforts. Naturally, feeling stress is bad. But, it goes beyond that. Stress can cause weight loss (and gain), hypertension, and brain fog. But, did you know stress-related back pain is a possibility?

I’ve already talked about back pain extensively:

• Sleeping and back pain.
• Sitting and back pain.
• And even stretches to alleviate it.

Today, we’ll dive into how emotions can translate into back pain. But, our focus will be anxiety and general stress.

Is stress-related back pain real?

According to the Interventional Orthopedics of Atlanta, it is. Stress-related back pain is among the physical symptoms of stress and anxiety.

For instance, you can also experience fatigue, headache, low libido, and chest pain. Stress releases cortisol and adrenaline. These cause your muscles to tighten. So, that’s where the pain comes from.

Stress-related back pain could be a mental cycle

Spine-Health.com describes “the pain cycle” as follows:

• Pain makes the patient feel more anxious and stressed. It comes from the fear of pain and injury.
• This stress leads to less physical activity.
• Less physical activity weakens your muscles. So, pain becomes more noticeable.

From there, you can see how the cycle starts repeating. Of course, it applies to extreme anxiety cases.

The root is still your muscles tightening.

Stress and body tension

So, your muscles tighten. By itself, that’s already uncomfortable. But, it also puts pressure on your nerves. As I’ve discussed earlier, that’s the main cause of back pain.

You can also feel overall stiffness and fatigue. That’s why stretching and tension release is the core solution.

What can you do to relieve stress-related back pain?

Luckily, UT Southwestern Medical Center has a few tips:

1. Find the root of your issue. See a doctor if necessary. That’ll determine the necessary treatment.
2. Exercise more often. Also, make sure you’re stretching properly before and after workouts.
3. Stretch even when you’re not exercising. A few stretches in the morning and in work breaks work wonders.
4. Keep a healthy diet. It’ll help your physical and emotional health.
5. Finally, set aside enough time to wind down and relax.

The holistic takeaway

Stress-related back pain can be a reality for many. Sure, scientific research is still lacking. But, everyone knows that stress can cause tension. Then, muscular tension becomes physical discomfort.

So, make sure you find time to wind down and relax every day. Try some stretches as well.

In fact, I have a great recommendation for the latter. The Back Pain Breakthrough is an amazing solution. It’s filled with exercises focused on releasing tension on your back.

If you want to learn more, check out my review!