Being stressed out can cause your muscles to tense, making you more prone to injury, in particular low back injury. And the more stressed you feel, the lower your tolerance for pain.  I thought this was an important topic to bring up, especially around the holidays.  It also has to do with the workplace.

http://www.bigbackpain.com/stressandbackpain.html

The Stress / Back Pain Connection

There is a strong connection between stress and back pain. Stress causes a release of stress hormones. Stress hormones increase the perception of pain.

Stress hormones also cause the muscles to tighten up. The muscles may tense up so much they go into painful spasms. Back and neck muscles are particularly sensitive to the effects of stress.

 Muscle tension reduces blood flow to the tissues (reduced oxygen and nutrients to the tissues). Reduced blood flow delays healing. Adequate circulation is also necessary to flush acidic waste products (byproducts of muscular activity) from the tissues. A build up of acidic waste products in the tissues can cause fatigue and pain.

Stress in itself can cause back pain. A person with a 'bad back', e.g. a person who has scar tissue from an old injury or degenerative changes in the spine due to aging, may notice the effects of stress triggering back pain even more than someone with a healthy back. The slightest muscle tension may be 'the straw the broke the camel's back.' For instance, if spinal nerves are already restricted by scar tissue or calcium deposits it may take minimal muscle tension to compress nerves and cause pain. Sciatica may also flare up when one is feeling stressed.

Melissa.

• stress
• back
• pain