Can Anxiety Lead To Stress Knots In Neck Or Upper Back Areas? | BetterHelp (2023)

Anxiety has demonstrable physical effects. The most common physical symptoms of stress include elevated heart and respiratory rates. Still, there are countless physical anxiety symptoms, ranging from clenched teeth and headaches to unexplained dizziness or nausea. While anxiety might at first seem primarily like a mental or emotional condition, it possesses physiological consequences that extend far beyond the initial buzz of anxiety.

What Is Anxiety?

I Get Knots In My Neck, Is It Because Of Anxiety?

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Anxiety can be defined as “feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.” When the stressor is eliminated, the anxiety typically subsides. However, feelings of worry and tension are persistent, difficult to control, and significantly impact daily functioning for some individuals. This may indicate the presence of ananxiety disorder. If you think you have an anxiety disorder, speaking with an online therapist is a great place to learn more about how to handle this.

There are various anxiety disorders, including Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and Specific Phobias. While each has a distinct set of symptoms, general characteristics of an anxiety disorder include unexplained fear or a sense of impending doom, racing thoughts, difficulty concentrating, and engaging in avoidant behavior. While all of these demonstrate the mental and emotional symptoms of anxiety, there are many physical symptoms of anxiety, including a racing heart, excessive sweating, trembling, feeling weak, having difficulty sleeping, and gastrointestinal issues.

If you believe you may have an anxiety disorder, consider seeking professional help. Living with anxiety can be overwhelming and isolating, so reaching out for help can initially prove to be a difficult task. Fortunately, most mental health practitioners have dealt with some form of anxiety before and will know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of anxiety disorders.

How is Anxiety Diagnosed?

Anxiety disorders are diagnosed through careful cataloging of patient-reported symptoms, discussion, and observation. When meeting with a psychiatrist or psychologist, the first order of business is to explain why you have reached out to a mental health professional for help. Panic attacks, racing thoughts, difficulty sleeping, and persistent fear are all common reasons to seek help for anxiety.

Once you have gone through your anxiety symptoms, a therapist might begin asking you to pinpoint any triggers you experience. Someone with General Anxiety Disorder (GAD), for instance, will likely have anxiety triggers that differ dramatically from someone who has Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD). Someone with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder will also have different triggers from someone with SAD. Identifying triggers helps you and your therapist determine what type of anxiety is plaguing you.

From there, a broad conversation regarding treatment will likely be in order. Treatment types depend largely on the therapist you’ve enlisted, the symptoms you experience, and the outcome you are looking for. For some, pharmaceutical intervention is the desired goal, so a psychiatrist will be the ideal fit, in addition, to talk therapy. For others, self-management is the desired focus, so Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is likely to be a good fit. For still others, possibilities are wide open. In these cases, patients and therapists can go over all possible treatment modalities to find something that fits your specific needs, goals, and symptoms.

Physical Symptoms Of Anxiety

A racing heart and high blood pressure are the two most common warning signs of a panic attack or the onset of a stress response. Although these are legitimate areas to focus on, they can dwarf equally common physical symptoms of anxiety that might be overlooked.

One of the most significant physical symptoms of anxiety is an upset stomach. A fight or flight response can cause persistent belly troubles, ranging from simple nausea to regular episodes of constipation, diarrhea, or a back-and-forth of the two. This particular physical symptom is problematic for many individuals with anxiety, as the presence of intense bowel discomfort can cause stress to compound and pile up, resulting in a constant cycle of stress, stress response, stressor, and stress again.

Feeling tense, wired, or on edge are also common symptoms of anxiety. When your body’s stress response is triggered, you enter into a state of “fight or flight.” In this state, your heart and respiratory rates accelerate, your muscles tense, and your body enters a state of watchfulness, which allows you to attack or flee. Although this is immensely useful if you are about to be attacked by a wild animal, it is problematic if the danger is a false alarm, an imagined scenario, or another similar issue. In these instances, your body is not allowed to release the stress response it has created, which can cause the symptoms of fight or flight to stick around without a safe, healthy outlet.

Anxiety And Musculature: The Physical Effects Of Stress

As stated above, your body tenses during a stress response. Your muscles might be taut, your jaw clenched, and your fists balled up in case of an attack. If someone is coming at you with a weapon drawn, the tension in your body will be invaluable in warding off danger. Still, when this response occurs again and again, without an actual predator involved, your body begins to train itself to stay in a tense, agitated state permanently.

Permanently engaging in a “fight or flight” mentality can be exhausting, and it can exert your muscles beyond the point of immediate recovery. People with anxiety disorders might find themselves feeling weak, drained, and overwhelmed often. While some of this is a mental exercise, some of it is an actual physical response to the stress anxiety places upon your physical body and your musculature.

With prolonged periods of stress, your body begins to develop a rigid, uncompromising stature, often taking on the poor stature, taut muscles, and rigidity of your fight or flight physicality. This can lead to muscle knots and injury in the neck, shoulders, back, jaw, and head. Muscle aches, spasms, and cramps are not uncommon in people with anxiety, as your physical body is very involved in the way you experience and deal with stress.

What Is a Stress Knot and How Does Muscle Pain Develop?

A muscle knot is caused by irritation from a repeated motion stressing the same muscles. While most people think of exercise or movement when they hear this, it can also refer to holding a position or stance for a prolonged period. You can develop muscle knots from frequently tensing your body in response to stress or having poor posture when sitting at a desk. When we feel stress or anxiety, it is common for muscles along the spine, especially the upper back and neck, to become tense.

Over time, this tension can cause more noticeable knots. Some of the pain associated with this may be minor, and easily resolved with time, rest, and proper recovery. However, long-term stress or tension in the body can result in chronic conditions affecting muscles.

Because the body and the mind are closely intertwined, anxiety can lead to myofascial pain syndrome in some people. This chronic pain disorder is characterized by muscle pain, particularly when touching a trigger point. Myofascial trigger points can often cause referred pain– or pain in other, unexpected body regions. Massage, self-massage, and stretching can all be beneficial in relieving some myofascial pain. However, if the pain is severe, a qualified health care professional can use trigger point injections to relax muscles and ease the pain temporarily.

Can Anxiety Cause Stress Knots In The Neck And Back?

Anxiety can cause knots to develop in your back, shoulders, and neck. Although a racing heart and high blood pressure are the two most frequently mentioned physical symptoms of anxiety, these are far from the only physical symptoms in existence. All of your body’s systems and functions can be negatively impacted by the presence of stress and anxiety, and each of these systems has its reaction to the prolonged presence of stress.

Your muscular system is adversely affected by the presence of stress. Muscles tense, jaws clench, and your body practically vibrate as it gets ready to run or defend itself, which both require heightened reflexes, speed, and agility. To create these conditions, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones are not problematic; they make you alert and on edge, and you can react far faster than would usually be the case. When even one of these hormones is constantly and consistently flooding your system, however, disease, pain, and discomfort can ensue, including the development of knots and tightness in your neck, shoulders, and back.

Anxiety is nothing to mess with. It may seem innocuous, but protracted periods of stress and anxiety can wreak havoc on your body, creating illness, faulty functioning, and pain. When these symptoms are present, treatment with a mental health professional can help ease them. Still, body-specific therapeutic techniques can also help disengage some of the tension created by anxiety and give your body the chance to rest and relax truly.

A Pain In The Neck: Stress And Recovery

As the mental and emotional effects of stress, the physical effects of anxiety can be overwhelming to navigate. Fortunately, there are ways to combat your body’s physical and physiological responses to anxiety, in addition to the usual therapeutic avenues used to treat anxiety disorders.

Yoga

One of the best and most effective ways to treat muscle tightness and stress at home is yoga. Yoga practices have been consistently linked to higher physical performance, reduced stress, and greater flexibility, all of which can aid in eliminating the physical effects of anxiety. Even 10 to 30 minutes per day of yoga, or three one-hour sessions per week, is enough to reap the benefits of yoga practice and help alleviate the pain and discomfort caused by knots in the neck, shoulders, and back.

Aerobic Activity

Aerobic activity is another great way to release physical tension. Running, jogging, or swimming can increase blood flow and reduce stress. Even 5 minutes of cardio can begin to create anti-anxiety effects. While 30 minutes of brisk exercise 5 days a week goes a long way, even just a 10-minute walk can stimulate positive results. Frequency tends to be key over intensity as it relates to anxiety. So a short daily walk might be more beneficial than solely waiting till the weekend for that long hike or run.

Massage

Massage is also a great way to treat anxiety and knots simultaneously; human touch is immensely important in creating feelings of calm and well-being. Massage allows the tense, knotted muscles to relax and let go of tension, improving your physical response to anxiety and giving you a sense of comfort, connection, and calm. The cost of massage can be prohibitive, but even engaging in a single massage therapy session per month can be helpful, and some massage therapists offer sliding scale pricing. Local massage schools also offer low-cost massages given by students.

If you cannot afford a massage, stretching and self-massage can be great at-home substitutes. Regular stretching can help prevent muscle knots by elongating the connective tissue. Knots shorten and tighten a muscle, while stretching can help lengthen it back to its previous form and increase blood flow to support tissue healing. A foam roller is an excellent tool to treat muscle knots and tight muscle fibers. By applying weight, one can roll over portions of the body that may be experiencing muscle pain. If a particular spot is tender or causing pain in the region, gently massage back and forth on this area to release muscle tension.

Physical Therapy

Physical therapists are trained to support clients’ movement and reduce pain. They use various techniques such as dry needling, acupuncture, massage, and exercise regimes. Another approach, trigger point pressure release, applies pressure to trigger points manually or with tools. It can be beneficial in releasing tension stored in one area but causing referred pain elsewhere.

Physical therapy can be especially helpful when the pain is severe or in a sensitive region. Neck pain, in particular, can interfere with daily life because we need neck mobility to move our heads or even walk properly. Seeking professional advice can help you determine the best course of action and techniques to treat and prevent muscle knots in these sensitive areas.

I Get Knots In My Neck, Is It Because Of Anxiety?

Ask A Licensed Mental Health Professional Online.

Talk Therapy

In combination with some of the other techniques mentioned in this article, talk therapy (especially cognitive-behavioral therapy) effectively reduces anxiety. Once your mind is less stressed, your body may follow suit. One study showed a direct relation between muscular tension and anxiety.

A review of the literature has shown that online counseling is just as effective as traditional counseling. In addition, it is convenient and flexible, allowing you to connect with a licensed mental health professional from a setting that is already comfortable for you. Having a trained professional’s guidance to help you develop the skills necessary to manage your anxiety may get you well on your way to alleviating your stress knots. More relaxed equals less tense, and less tension leads to muscle relaxation. Read what others have to stay and then take a step toward self-care – our counselors are standing by to help you live a less anxious life.

“Online counseling through BetterHelp has given me more ways to interact with my counselor than in-person visits. I don’t melt down either anxiety in a waiting room; I’m not picking up or spreading germs in one either. Things that are normally harder to talk about are easier in writing or when not sitting right in front of another person. I get less stressed and emotional when I can have my session at home where I feel safer.”