Stress and Pain - Are They Linked?
26 November 2012
I have a couple of stories from patients I have seen that may answer this question.
I have a friend of mine who would have a weak back. He’s always had for years but as long as he watches how he lifts and works, he’s fine. I may see him once every couple years at most.
He was going through a nasty separation with his wife at the time and he would phone me once a month without fail to say that his back was killing him. I would go and fix him until it got sore again the next month for no reason.
This happened for almost a year until he met someone new. When he met this new woman, his bad back went away and once again, I would see him once in a blue moon.
I had another patient who has had neck problems in the past but she was in a very stressful job, felt under constant pressure in work and she was getting tension headaches all the time because of this.
Not only this but she was getting cold sores and severe flu like symptoms. She was simply burned out, completely run down!
She had to take time off work due to the stress. But once she got her life sorted again, all these physically problems started to fade away. She still gets tension headaches but no where near as often.
Stress and pain is definitely linked especially if there is a weakness there. With most people, the problem will lie more in the neck and shoulder region as we hold this very tight with stress.
Others may hurt another old injury such as the lower back. So be very aware of stress. It’s not a good thing. Life’s to short to be worrying about things and getting annoyed about things.
You will have a more pain free life if you have a stress free life. So just keep this in mind for your general well being.
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