Relax: How Stress Influences Chronic Pain

Did you know that stress and chronic pain go together in a cycle that seems never-ending? Stress influences chronic pain in a number of ways. Although a certain amount of stress is tolerable to the body, being stressed out all the time can actually cause chronic pain. And if you’re already living with chronic pain, it can make your pain even worse. 

How does stress influence chronic pain, and what can you do about it?

Stress and Pain Exist in a Cycle

Which came first: pain or stress? It’s likely you’re not sure, and the answer will depend on whether or not you have a definite injury to blame your chronic pain on. In this case, your injury has impacted your life, your activities, and your emotional well-being. Therefore, your chronic pain has brought about stress—and perhaps even depression and anxiety—associated with your chronic pain. 

In the event that your stress and chronic pain co-exist and perhaps even originated together, stress still feeds the cycle of pain. The more you worry about your pain—such as what aggravates it, how your pain level is at a particular moment, and what you can do to care for yourself—the worse your chronic pain can become. Remember that staying relaxed has the potential to help you feel better, so try not to put energy into the cycle of experiencing stress about your chronic pain, as difficult as it can be at times. Talk with your pain management doctor about your anxieties and fears about your pain.

Stress Can Determine Where Your Pain Is

If your chronic pain has an unidentifiable cause and is most commonly experienced in your back, neck, or shoulders, stress could be major factor in influencing this. Stress can actually bring about chronic pain due to the muscle tension that is experienced during stress. If you’re in a constant state of stress, your body could be influential in causing its own chronic pain.

Maggie Harris, an LCSW with Center for Spine Joint & Neuromuscular Rehabilitation explains how stress and pain turn into a cycle. “Pain triggers stress, and stress negatively affects pain control chemicals in the brain.  Stress management skills can help to reduce the arousal that impacts these chemicals which in turn enables the body’s natural pain relief response to work better.  Stress management skills can also help the body to relax rather than brace/tighten in response to pain (which can actually increase the pain).” 

This is another reason why minimizing stress can help your brain to control the pain signals it’s receiving, therefore helping to lessen your chronic pain!

What Can You Do?

It’s not easy to stay stress-free with pain, particularly if you’re not in treatment. This is why it’s essential to treat your chronic pain. A pain management doctor can help to lessen your chronic pain and try a combination of therapies and medications that can get you feeling your best. You can also try these other methods to stay relaxed while receiving treatment: 

• Talk with a friend. Even if “friend” means a mental health professional, talking with someone can really help. Call up an old friend, talk with your spouse, or consider counseling. You’ll be surprised how much communicating can be a stress reliever.
•  Exercise. Talk with your pain management doctor about what types of exercise would be appropriate for you based on your pain. Yoga and swimming may be good options, or even a brisk walk every day. Exercising can help you stay stress-free and even help your body stay stronger to combat chronic pain.
• Schedule downtime. Take some time for yourself every day. Do something you enjoy in a quiet space. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it cultivates awareness of your surroundings, takes advantage of quietness, and eases your mind.
• Make some changes. Taking on too much at work? Have you been putting off a vacation? Make some changes in your life in order to relax more, even if it means sacrificing some things. There’s no price you can put on taking care of yourself and minimizing stress, which also help enhance your chronic pain treatment.

Stress not only impacts your chronic pain, but it can also lead to many other health problems, some of which will even worsen your chronic pain such as anxiety and depression. Always seek treatment for your chronic pain because there is help available. Remember to stay relaxed and discuss your fears with your pain management doctor. Reduce stress and you can help reduce your chronic pain!