Many people experience neck pain but aren’t sure what is causing their pain. They may not recall changing anything in their routine or moving differently that could cause them to be in pain. One source that could be to blame is stress. There are many stressful influencers in our life right now. There are many uncertainties that can cause your stress levels to be higher than usual. Could stress really be causing me to physically hurt? The answer is yes.
How Stress Impacts My Neck
– Muscle tightness
– Headaches
– Loss of motion
– Other joints like your upper-mid back and shoulder could start to hurt/lose motion
The tension of stress can cause the small muscles in our neck to tighten up and stiffen which can cause pain. This can also cause us to lose motion in our neck and make it harder for us to turn and rotate our head. The tight muscles can also cause some to experience nagging headaches. In some cases, the tight neck muscles can start to compress nerves and pull on other muscles so that it feels like your pain is travelling to other parts of your body such as:
- Your upper back
- Your shoulder
- Your arm
- Your hand
Does this really need to be addressed?
Yes, this is an issue that we recommend be addressed with physical therapy before it gets worse. We see many patients in the clinic with stress related neck pain that get great results with the help of physical therapy. We find stretches and strengthening exercises catered to each individual’s needs as well as hands on techniques to release tight muscles and reduce headaches. We also use education to help reduce stressful influencers and offer ways to help you manage stress.
