When we experience some anxious feelings on a small scale, an anxiety attack, or long periods of feels anxious, our whole body can be affected by this.  There can be other symptoms, such as digestive issues, but one of the most commonly reported symptoms is muscle aches and pains.

But what is the link between anxiety and muscle pain?

Anxiety is designed as a survival tool, if we perceive something as off in out surroundings, we are more likely to respond to it to increase our chances of survival – this is our fight or flight system. When we feel a sense of anxiety, our brain starts to prepare us for danger, and release the appropriate hormones and neurotransmitters. The main stress hormones that are releases here are cortisol and adrenalin.

When our body is optimal, once the sense of threat is gone, these hormones should reduce, but in today’s society where we have many anxiety producing factors, this isn’t the case. Anxiety exacerbates long-term stress and the release of cortisol and adrenaline and keeps us in a fight or flight system for prolonged periods, which is not how our body should function

As adrenaline pumps through your body, your blood vessels constrict. That causes your muscles not to receive the blood flow they need, which in turn causes them stress that leads to tension and aches. Your body is also sending messages to your muscles to prepare to fight or flee. Then, when no fighting or fleeing occurs, your muscles get fatigued and stressed. This also leads to tension. When we have an imbalance of these hormones in our body over sustained periods, as a result of anxiety, aching is possible as we are not in the equilibrium so our muscle fibres can become more sensitive

Not all muscle aches come straight from your body’s reactions to stress either. Some of them come from the way you, yourself, respond when you’re stressed.

For example, many people with anxiety end up slouching more, or avoiding exercise, or sleeping longer. All of these can actually lead to muscle aches and tension themselves, simply because the changes in behaviours stretch and push on your muscles!

Heal > Adapt > Evolve