Can Anxiety Cause Shoulder Pain?

Many people who suffer from chronic shoulder pain wonder if anxiety can be the root cause of their ailments. We all know the feeling of stress and anxiety: our neck tenses, our stomach aches, and our breathing becomes heavy. However, can anxiety cause shoulder pain?

Today, over 40 million Americans suffer from an anxiety disorder, which comes with a number of negative side effects. Shoulder pain can certainly be one of those negative side effects. You don’t even need to feel like you are actively or severely suffering from anxiety to experience this. Even moderate anxiety can cause chronic shoulder pain, which needs to be treated either by resolving the anxiety or by seeing a licensed chiropractor.

Why Does My Shoulder Hurt?

One or both of your shoulders could be in pain for a number of reasons. If you experience sharp but infrequent shoulder pain, it may be a sign that you are doing something wrong, like physical activity or stretching. If you were recently in a car accident, you may be experiencing whiplash symptoms.

However, if you suffer from frequent—perhaps constant—shoulder pain, it may be caused by anxiety and stress. Anxiety has many insidious ways of affecting the human body. Some of the ways in which anxiety could be causing shoulder pain are by:

• Causing you to tighten your jaw,
• Causing you to clench your muscles around your shoulders and neck,
• Increasing tension in your muscles,
• Enlarging blood vessels and restricting muscle mobility, and
• Increasing your perception of pain.

If you suspect that you are suffering from shoulder pain due to anxiety, you should take steps to naturally reduce your anxiety levels in order to treat the root cause of your pain.

How to Reduce Stress to Alleviate Shoulder Pain

Dealing with the stressors in your life that are causing anxiety should be the first step in a path towards an anxiety-free lifestyle. If your anxiety is severe, you may want to seek clinical help to develop a plan to treat your anxiety with a licensed therapist or psychiatrist.

In the meantime—or if your case is milder— you may want to try the following methods to reduce anxiety and potentially reduce shoulder pain:

• Gentle stretches. If you are suffering from shoulder pain, you want to be extremely cautious when stretching your neck and shoulders. However, slow and gentle stretches can help restore some flexibility to the affected muscles.
• Meditation. Studies show that mindfulness meditation can help reduce anxiety. Even if you only do it for 5-10 minutes a day, meditating can have significant positive impacts on your anxiety levels.
• Working out releases endorphins, which can help offset the negative effects of anxiety. If your shoulder pain prevents you from engaging in vigorous exercise, you can try going for long walks to get the same benefits from a workout.

Can A Chiropractor Help With Shoulder Pain?

If you are suffering from shoulder pain, then seeing a chiropractor is a great idea. Shoulder pain is one of the most common reasons why people visit chiropractor clinics. A trained professional will be able to properly identify the type of shoulder pain you are dealing with and provide you with the appropriate treatment for your pain.

Active Family Chiropractic is a full-service chiropractic clinic serving the cities of Kentlands, Lakelands, Gaithersburg, North Potomac, Rockville, Germantown, and Potomac in Maryland. If you are in or near any of these cities, give us a call at (301) 963-8333 to book an appointment with one of our experienced chiropractors.