No one likes the feeling of being stressed out. Anxiety never makes life easier and we all have experience with how it can manifest itself in a number of different ways. You may not know just how bad it is on your body though, especially your neck.
How Stress Hurts the Neck
Most of us know the feeling of stress in two different ways. There’s the psychological dread that accompanies it and then there’s the very real feeling of a tension headache. For many, those headaches are enough to completely derail their day.
However, stress has been shown to also grab hold of the neck in an observable way. That’s because it causes your neck’s muscles to tense up. If they don’t relax anytime soon—like muscles do in typical situations—they start to cause pain. Literally, they become a pain in the neck.
It doesn’t stop there though. This chronic pain has a number of other symptoms like fatigue and irritability. Many people also suffer from depression because of their neck issues. Although stress may not be directly responsible for the neck pain you deal with, you can be sure it adds to it. Stress can also accentuate the feelings of pain you’re already trying to fight.
Relieving Neck Pain Caused by Stress
One of the best things you can do to fight neck pain is to relieve stress. One of the best ways to relieve stress is with exercise. While you want to choose workouts that won’t run the risk of making your neck worse, getting in a good sweat at the gym or at home could be all you need to let that anxiety go.
That being said, don’t forget that your neck needs movement too. Most of us sit with our necks in one position for the majority of our workday. This causes the muscles to become soft and weak, which doesn’t help matters. Give your neck a good stretch several times throughout the day, no matter what your occupation is.
Go Easy on Yourself
Another thing you can do to help alleviate stress and the neck pain it causes is simply take care of yourself. Going a million miles an hour is bound to have ramifications and your neck is often the first to know about it.
Take five minutes a day to sit quietly and meditate. All you have to do is let your mind go blank and when a thought springs up, return to that mental quiet. Even when you don’t do it well, meditation has been shown to have amazing health benefits, especially where anxiety is concerned.
Eat better too. Sugary foods, caffeine, and even too many carbs, can interfere with how you sleep, adding to your mental fatigue and irritability.
The best thing you can do for your neck pain, though, is see a professional. At Advanced Chiropractic and Holistic Wellness Center, we can work on the pain you currently have and show you some great stretches and exercises for making sure that discomfort stays at bay.