Can Anxiety Cause Back Pain?
Scott Lamb Back pain is a very common type of pain experienced by most of us. If you commonly have to deal with back pain, it is likely that you have anxiety issues or are stressed. Back pain due to anxiety and stress causing back pain needs to be dealt with to avoid any more serious issues. Treating anxiety and managing your stress levels will help you reduce any extreme back pains.
Stress and Anxiety Cause Tense Muscles
Anxiety is a result of prolonged stress. Both stress and anxiety can cause muscle tension. Having muscle tension is one of the major physical symptoms of those who suffer from any type of emotional or physical stress. Although even people without any stress and anxiety can still experience tension, the feeling is extreme for people with high stress and anxiety levels. It also becomes harder to manage and treat. Your muscles tend to contract more when you are under any type of stress-causing discomfort, pain, and difficulty. The longer the period of muscle contraction, the more intense the muscle tension.
What to do When you are Anxious and Your Back Hurts
- Watch Your Posture
Being stressed and anxious can make you acquire a bad posture. A bad posture does not offer enough support for your body and can cause back aches. Try assuming a better posture to avoid back pains caused by anxiety and stress.
- Be Active and Exercise
Mild back pains can be relieved by being physically active. Engaging in various activities, walking around, or doing some exercise strengthen your back.
- Always Stretch Out
Stretching helps to prevent further muscle pain by making them nimble and relaxed. Unstretched muscles are more likely to freeze causing back pains.
- Take Some Pain Medication
Just like any other back pain, anxiety-caused back pain can also be treated by pain killers. You can get a common pain killer and take it for your pain.
Relaxing Exercises to Help Calm Anxiety
Anxiety affects the quality of life you live. You can however find relief from anxiety and live a happy healthy life by exercising anywhere at any time. Below are some exercises that will help you calm down when feeling anxious.
- Relax by controlling your breathing thereby relaxing your body and mind and relieving anxiety.
- Relax your mind and body through visualization and creating mental images of things that make you feel relaxed. The mind-body connection causes calmness and will make you feel relaxed.
- Relieve anxiety by ensuring that your muscles are relaxed and free from any tension.
- Try counting numbers during anxiety attacks with your eyes closed. You will notice that your anxiety disappears as you continue counting.
- Be mindful of your environment and acknowledge your current state positively. By avoiding the thoughts causing your anxiety, you achieve a calm state of mind.