Did you know that psychological factors can actually contribute to physical injuries inside our bodies? It’s true. Problems like stress and anxiety can be hard on your mind, but if they are left untreated, they can actually lead to physical problems for key areas of your body. One area that is prone to physical issues from psychological stressors is your neck and upper spine. Below, we take a closer look at why stress can lead to neck pain development, and we talk about some ways to treat stress-related neck problems.
Why Stress Can Cause Neck Pain
We all deal with stress throughout our daily lives, but it’s important that you either work to limit this stress or find healthy outlets to help alleviate it. When your body is stressed, your brain releases specific stress-related hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones can increase muscle tension. This natural response is something that has developed over centuries and is part of our fight or flight mode, but if your body is regularly stressed and releasing stress-related hormones, muscle tension can lead to real pain within your body.
A common location for muscle tension to develop when you’re stressed or anxious is in your neck, and this can lead to pain in the neck or nearby areas like your upper back, shoulders or head. In fact, muscle tension is one of the leading causes of chronic headaches. These tension headaches are typically caused by muscle tension in and around the neck area, and while muscle problems can be the result of acute trauma, they can also develop due to stress and anxiety.
The good news is that if we know that stress and anxiety is contributing to physical pain in your neck region, we also know that working to mitigate these psychological issues can lead to physical symptom improvement. However, alleviating stress is a lot easier said than done. There’s no way to completely eliminate stress from your life, because we all experience stress in social, familial and work situations. Don’t try to completely eliminate stress, because that can make life even more stressful when it doesn’t work! Instead, find healthy outlets that serve to relieve stress when it develops.
How you work to reduce and alleviate this stress will be based on what you find calming and relaxing. For example, some people find that going for a run helps to clear their mind and calm their anxiety, while for others, the thought of going for a physically challenging run would only add to their stress levels, so we challenge you to find activities that you find enjoyable and relaxing. A physical activity or exercise is great because exercise releases endorphins in your brain that act as natural painkillers and can help to relieve muscle tension, but some other activities that many people find relaxing include:
- Hot Bath/Shower – Having some alone time in the bath or shower can help you destress, especially if the water is warm. A hot shower will help to open up blood vessels and improve your circulation, which will push oxygenated blood to muscles, making it easier for them to function optimally. A heating pad can also provide similar relief.
- Yoga – Yoga helps you achieve some of the physical benefits of exercise without the high-impact activity that is required for some workouts. Yoga emphasizes controlled breathing while performing certain movements and stretches, which benefits your mind and your body.
- Deep Breathing – Sometimes all you need in a moment of stress is to take a few deep breaths and to reset your mind. Deep breathing and meditation techniques can allow you to reframe the problem and help you realize that things aren’t as stressful as they originally seemed.
- Massage – We don’t expect you to get a massage every time you’re feeling stressed, but if you’ve gone through a particularly stressful stretch, consider booking a massage for yourself. Not only is a massage a relaxing experience, but a good masseuse can physically break up spots of muscle tension that have developed in your neck, shoulder or back.
We’ve seen firsthand just how impactful unmanaged stress and anxiety can be on a person’s neck, so don’t be surprised if we talk about your mental health even if you’re presenting to Dr. Jackman’s office with physical pain because the two factors are closely related. Let us help you get to the bottom of your neck pain and find a real solution for your issue. For more information, reach out to Dr. Jackman and the team at the Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
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