Stress Related Back Pain is a Relatively Modern Diagnosis
Stress-related back pain is a relatively modern diagnosis although the concept of muscular pain caused by tension is not a new one. Stress of both the physical and psychological sort can make the painful symptoms of any injury worse but 'stress-related back pain' is a term used for pain caused by stress above all other factors. For many the idea of thoughts and feelings causing a physical problem seems unlikely, but this is well established in medicine. Stress causes many changes in the body and predisposes to conditions such as gastritis, high blood pressure and heart disease. In addition, it causes a build up of tension throughout the body. Stress-related back pain is thought to relate to this tension. You may have read that back pain can be caused by muscle spasm in the back. This spasm is worsened by tension in the muscles and is a target for interventions such as stretches to the back and physiotherapy. Stress could trigger pain in the back by creating tension and s...