Can Anxiety and Stress Cause Back Pain?

Get guidance from a counselor

Get Started

Need Help, But Prefer
To Talk Later?

Anxiety affects more than just your mind—it can also cause physical symptoms, including back pain. This can make daily activities feel overwhelming and hard to manage.

This guide will show you how anxiety and back pain are linked and offer ways to help you manage and reduce your discomfort.

How stress and anxiety affect your back

Anxiety doesn’t just stay in your mind; it can cause physical issues throughout your body, including your back. 1 Here’s how anxiety can lead to back pain:

Muscle tension

Anxiety causes muscle tension. 2 This might affect your back and cause chronic back pain:

  • Constant tension: Anxiety often causes your muscles to tense up, especially in your back and shoulders. This constant tension can lead to pain and stiffness.
  • Stress response: When you’re anxious, your body goes into a fight-or-flight mode, making your muscles tighter.
  • Chronic tightness: Prolonged anxiety keeps your muscles in a state of tightness, leading to chronic pain and discomfort.

Poor posture

Bad posture can cause back pain:3

  • Slouching:  Anxiety often causes you to slouch or hunch over due to stress or feeling overwhelmed. It also leads to muscle tension, making it hard to maintain good posture. These habits strain your back muscles and spine, resulting in pain.

Inactivity

Anxiety can lead to inactivity, which in turn contributes to back pain:

  • Lack of movement: Anxiety might make you feel too tired or unmotivated to exercise. This lack of physical activity weakens your muscles, making your back more prone to pain.
  • Avoiding activities: Anxiety can cause you to avoid activities you think will worsen your stress, leading to more time spent inactive and increasing the risk of back pain.
  • Sedentary lifestyle: Prolonged anxiety can lead to a sedentary lifestyle, which may result in weight gain and further strain on your back.

Sleep problems

Anxiety often interferes with sleep for some people. This, in turn, might lead to back pain:

  • Restless nights: Anxiety can lead to restless nights or poor-quality sleep, preventing your back muscles from recovering and causing ongoing pain.
  • Poor sleep positions: Anxiety can cause you to move around a lot in bed, leading to poor sleep positions that strain your back.
  • Insomnia: Chronic anxiety can cause insomnia, which means you don’t get the deep sleep needed for muscle repair, making back pain worse.

Increased sensitivity to pain

Anxiety can make you more sensitive to pain, intensifying back pain:

  • Heightened awareness: Anxiety can make you more aware of pain sensations. This increased sensitivity can make you notice and feel back pain more intensely.
  • Pain perception: When you’re anxious, your brain processes pain differently, making the pain feel worse than it is.
  • Lower pain threshold: Anxiety can lower your threshold for pain, making even mild discomfort feel more severe.

How to know if your back pain is caused by anxiety

Identifying if your back pain is caused by anxiety can be challenging, but recognizing the signs and patterns can help. Here’s how to find out if anxiety is causing your back pain:

Recognize the timing and triggers

  • During or after stress: Notice if your back pain flares up during or immediately after stressful events or periods of high anxiety. This timing can indicate that anxiety is a contributing factor.
  • Consistency with anxiety symptoms: Check if your back pain regularly occurs alongside other anxiety symptoms, such as a racing heart, sweating, or feelings of panic. This pattern suggests a link between your anxiety and back pain.
  • Impact of daily activities: Assess whether your back pain worsens with activities that are stressful or anxiety-inducing. If so, anxiety might be contributing to your discomfort.

Assess physical and emotional symptoms

  • Muscle tightness: Anxiety disorders often lead to muscle tension in the neck, shoulders, and back. Pay attention to whether your back pain coincides with feelings of tightness in these areas.
  • Poor posture: Anxiety can cause you to slouch or hunch over, leading to poor posture and back pain. Notice if your posture worsens when you feel anxious.
  • Sleep disturbances: Anxiety often disrupts sleep, leading to poor-quality rest. If you notice that your back pain is worse after nights of restless sleep, anxiety could be a factor.
  • Tossing and turning: Anxiety can cause you to move around a lot in bed, leading to poor sleep positions that strain your back and cause pain.

Conduct a medical evaluation

  • Consult a doctor: See a healthcare provider to rule out other potential causes of your back pain, such as injuries, spinal conditions, or muscle strains. A thorough medical evaluation can help pinpoint the exact cause of your discomfort.
  • Diagnostic tests: Imaging studies like X-rays or MRIs can help determine whether your back pain is caused by something other than anxiety.

Treatment for stress-related back pain

Managing stress-related low back pain involves addressing both the physical and emotional aspects of your condition. 

Physical solutions

Exercise and stretching

  • Regular exercise: Physical activities like walking, swimming, or yoga can strengthen your back muscles and reduce tension. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week.
  • Stretching routines: Incorporate daily stretching exercises that target your back and shoulders. Stretching can improve flexibility and alleviate muscle tightness.

Physical therapy

  • Professional guidance: Working with a physical therapist can help you develop a tailored exercise and stretching program to address your needs. They can also teach you proper techniques to avoid injury.
  • Manual therapy: Techniques such as massage or spinal manipulation can relieve muscle tension and improve mobility.

Relaxation techniques

  • Breathing exercises: Practice deep breathing exercises to calm your nervous system. Inhale deeply through your nose, hold briefly, and exhale slowly through your mouth. Repeat for several minutes to reduce stress and muscle tension.
  • Mindfulness practices: Engage in mindfulness or meditation practices to help reduce stress levels. These techniques can help you focus on the present moment and decrease anxiety.
  • Guided meditation: Use meditation apps to guide you through meditation sessions, helping you relax and reduce back pain.
  • Muscle relaxation: Tense and slowly release each muscle group in your body. This technique helps reduce overall muscle tension, including in your back.

Lifestyle adjustments

Making simple changes to your daily habits can help heal anxiety and back pain.

Ergonomic improvements

  • Workstation setup: Ensure your workstation supports good posture. Use a chair that supports your lower back, keep your feet flat on the floor, and position your computer screen at eye level.
  • Frequent breaks: If you sit for long periods, take regular breaks to stand, stretch, and move around. This helps prevent stiffness and muscle tension in your back.

Healthy habits

  • Balanced diet: Eat a nutritious diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Avoid excessive caffeine and sugar, which can increase anxiety and muscle tension.
  • Adequate sleep: Maintain a consistent sleep schedule and create a restful sleep environment. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night to allow your muscles to recover.
  • Hydration: Drink plenty of water to keep your muscles and joints hydrated, reducing the risk of muscle tension and pain.

Mental health support

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): Work with a therapist to develop coping strategies for managing stress and anxiety. CBT is particularly effective for treating the mental aspects of stress-related back pain.
  • Counseling: Talking to a counselor can help you address the emotional factors contributing to your stress and back pain.
  • Medication management: In some cases, medication may be necessary to control anxiety and related symptoms. Discuss this option with your healthcare provider to determine if it’s right for you.

Final thoughts

Reducing back pain starts with addressing anxiety and stress. Use relaxation techniques like deep breathing and mindfulness to ease muscle tension. Regular exercise can strengthen your back and improve posture.

If anxiety and stress are causing your back pain, seek professional help. Our anxiety treatment program offers personalized care to manage anxiety and relieve physical symptoms

call-center-icon (602) 737-2329 Speak To A Representative

We provide treatment for anxiety across Arizona

Our anxiety treatment services are available across Arizona. You can find us in the following cities:

Sources

1. Hu, Y., Yang, Z., Li, Y., Xu, Y., Zhou, X., & Guo, N. (2022). Anxiety symptoms and associated factors among chronic low back pain patients in China: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Public Health, 10, 878865. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.878865

2. Im, S., Rushing, B., Wright, A., Softic, D., & Lakhmani, A. (2023). Muscle tension in generalized anxiety disorder during a stressful mental arithmetic task: Direct original research. Research in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.53520/rdpb2023.10776

3. American Pain Society. (n.d.). How can poor posture result in back pain? American Pain Society. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://www.americanpain.org/how-can-poor-posture-result-in-back-pain/