They say there are three things promised in this life - death, taxes, and stress. It’s inescapable, from work to relationships, health, family, and more. Sometimes, there’s no reason to feel stressed out at all, and yet, you feel like a nervous wreck.
Aside from the mental toll it takes, stress often manifests itself in the form of physical discomfort. So can stress cause neck pain? If you find yourself aching and uncomfortable but don’t remember doing anything to tweak your neck, yes, it could be stress giving you grief!
The good news is there are plenty of ways to manage neck pain from stress, and we’ll share a few of our personal favorites below. We’ll also take a closer look at why stress causes neck pain. But if you just want rapid relief, look no further than our muscle bath soak.
Flewd Stresscare has developed an array of stress relief bath soak formulations that help you build a more resilient stress response with effects lasting up to 5 days. Learn more about stress neck pain below!
Understanding Stress
We want to make it clear that stress is totally normal. It’s your body’s natural response to challenges or demands, and it’s what has kept the human race alive all this time.
But we’re not being chased by sabretooth tigers or fighting rival tribes anymore. These days, it’s silly things like work deadlines, financial pressures, or personal relationships that cause stress. Or, it could be self-imposed expectations and negative thought patterns.
Whatever the case, short-term stress is no real cause for concern. In fact, it’s a tool that helps enhance focus and productivity. Chronic stress is where the real problems come from.
This can lead to anxiety, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. It disrupts sleep, drains energy levels, and affects your overall quality of life. Left unchecked, stress can alter hormone levels and make it increasingly difficult to relax.
Stress can also cause physical ailments, though, which is what we’re here to talk about today.
Can Stress Cause Neck Pain? The Truth About Neck Pain From Stress
All that being said, can stress cause neck pain? In a broader sense, can stress cause muscle pain? Yes, and yes. A better question is, how does stress cause neck pain?
How Does Stress Cause Neck Pain?
It all goes back to your flight or fight response, a deep engrained survival mechanism in humans that we touched on earlier. Rising stress levels prompt the body to release cortisol and adrenaline.
This causes muscles, most notably those in the neck, shoulders, and upper-back, to tighten involuntarily. You probably don’t feel it as it’s happening, but over time, this constant muscle tension leads to stiffness, soreness, and even spasms.
There’s also a link between magnesium and stress that you need to be aware of. Magnesium is a mineral responsible for over 300 bodily functions. It helps relax muscles. But, stress depletes magnesium.
This creates a vicious cycle - you’re stressed, so you get tense and your muscles get sore. You need more magnesium to counter the effect, but your body uses all its magnesium when it’s stressed!
This is why a magnesium bath soak is one of the best remedies for neck pain from stress. More on that later.
The Link Between Stress and Poor Posture
Stress can affect your posture and lead to even more aches and pains, too. People have a habit of hunching their shoulders, craning their neck forward, and clenching their jaw when they’re stressed.
All of these things put unnecessary strain on the cervical spine and the muscles that support it. Couple this with long hours spent at a desk and it’s no wonder our society has such poor posture!
But beyond looking unsightly, poor posture can lead to misalignment, chronic discomfort, and, you guessed it - neck pain.
Other Stress-Related Neck Pain Symptoms
Beyond general stiffness and soreness, stress-induced neck pain can be accompanied by plenty of other symptoms as well.
One of the most common is the dreaded tension headache. This is the result of tension radiating from the neck and shoulders, dizziness from restricted blood flow, and tingling sensations caused by nerve compression.
We’ve also seen people deal with jaw pain or tightness from unconscious clenching or teeth grinding (bruxism). This can eventually lead to TMJ, which can really impact your quality of life.
How to Relieve Neck Pain From Stress
Given the physical (not to mention the mental) toll that stress neck pain can take, you need to have strategies in place to manage it. Here’s how to relieve neck pain from stress in a number of different ways.
Get More Magnesium
So, does magnesium help with stress? It helps relax muscles and regulates the nervous system, sort of a one-two punch against stress. Not only does it offset the physical discomfort from stress but it simultaneously makes you more resilient to stress going forward.
We touched on this link a bit already, but increasing magnesium levels to counteract stress isn’t as simple as dietary adjustments or supplements. You can get it through leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and fish - but not in high enough concentrations to move the needle.
Similarly, oral supplements are poorly absorbed since they have low bioavailability. Worse, they’re associated with uncomfortable side effects like diarrhea. Fortunately, there’s a better way to harness the power of magnesium.
Try Our Ache Erasing Soak!
The best magnesium for stress is just a click away at Flewd Stresscare. Magnesium absorbs better transdermally, or through the skin. We have an entire resource on the magnesium soak benefits discussing this.
We’ve combined magnesium chloride, the most bioavailable form, with vitamins C & D, and essential omega-3s to release muscle tension, ease soreness, and promote recovery.
The mandarin and blood orange scent provides a refreshing and calming bathing experience to further manage stress. It’s really easy to use, too. Simply dump a packet into warm bath water and relax for 20-30 minutes. Your body will absorb all the magnesium it needs.
Massage Treatments
Massage therapy improves circulation, breaks up muscle knots, and reduces cortisol levels. But let’s face it - who has time or money for regular massage treatments? Most people cannot afford this luxury.
The next best option is a simple self-massage using gentle circular motions along the neck and shoulders. Or, maybe your spouse/roommate is feeling generous enough to help you work through that tension.
Heat Therapy
Applying heat to tight muscles increases blood flow and relaxes stiffness, a perfect way to manage stress neck pain. It’s easy, too - try a warm compress, heating pad, or even a hot bath soak. We recommend heat therapy before a massage.
Frequent Stretching
After your heat therapy and massage combination, you can do a bit of stretching to improve flexibility, alleviate stiffness, and prevent tension buildup.
It doesn’t take much. Just spend 5-10 minutes a day doing simple movements such as neck tilts, shoulder rolls, and chin tucks to release the strain you’re feeling in your neck. Hold each stretch for 15-30 seconds and repeat a few times.
Regular Exercise
There’s few better remedies for stress than movement. Not only does it take your mind off of what has you stressed but it also releases endorphins, leaving you in a much better mood than when you’d started. Plus, it improves posture and muscle function!
Again, you don’t need to do anything crazy. Regular walks around the neighborhood or a sport you enjoy such as golf, pickleball, swimming, or even yoga/pilates are all great options. What matters most is you move on most days of the week.
The Importance of Sleep
Poor sleep quality worsens stress and muscle tension. This is another vicious cycle, because you’re even more stressed out when you can’t sleep.
Make a concerted effort to get at least 7-9 hours of deep, restful sleep every night. This is when your body repairs and reuters, after all. The best magnesium soak for a better night’s rest is our Insomnia Ending soak. Give it a shot!
Meditation and Mindfulness
Managing stress neck pain through meditation and mindfulness can help calm the nervous system and ease tension. Practice deep breathing, guided meditation, or progressive muscle relaxation even if for just a few minutes every day.
Journaling
Sometimes neck pain from stress can be traced back to a racing mind. It sounds so simple, but just getting your thoughts on paper and reading through them can be a powerful way to find a sense of calm.
Journaling before bed or after a stressful day can also help identify the specific things you’re stressed out about so you can take action.
Minimizing Sources of Stress
This is only possible to a certain extent, but if there are sources of stress you could do without, cut them loose! This includes toxic relationships, unfair expectations you put on yourself, or even workplace turmoil.
This might involve setting boundaries, improving time management, or making lifestyle adjustments to create a more balanced routine. Even something like lowering your screen time can make a difference in how stressed you feel.
When to Talk to a Therapist
If stress neck pain doesn’t get better using these tips, especially after incorporating our epsom salt substitute on a regular basis, you might need to find some professional guidance.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), stress management coaching, or professional counseling are all great ways to become more emotionally resilient to stress, and in turn, minimize its impact on your physical wellbeing.
Wrapping Up Our Stress Neck Pain Guide
So, can stress cause neck pain? We hope this stress neck pain has left you with a solid grasp of where this link comes from and how to relieve neck pain from stress.
Tight muscles, poor posture, and prolonged mental strain all contribute to discomfort, but the good news is that relief is within reach - right here at Flewd Stresscare. With more than 100,000 happy customers and counting you can trust that you’re getting the stress support you need.
So, what are you waiting for? Take the first step toward relaxation today and put stress neck pain in the past once and for all!
