Can Stress Cause Body Aches And Fatigue

Psychological Stress Can Cause Back Pain

Though it might seem hard to believe, mental or emotional distress may be the reason you are experiencing back pain. In fact, there is a long list of physical symptoms that have been proven to be associated with stress and anxiety, including:

• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Low libido

Stress itself is the bodys reaction to certain usually unpleasant situations or thoughts. You may not realize it, but when you are feeling stressed or anxious, there are chemical and physical reactions taking place in your body to try and protect you from harm. Cortisol and adrenaline are released, and there is typically an involuntary tightening of your muscles. This often occurs in the neck, shoulders, and down the spine. Prolonged tension in these areas can lead to back pain and, more specifically, lower back pain. You may have had a massage therapist tell you that you hold a lot of tension in your shoulders, and this phenomenon is what they are referencing.

Related Signs And Symptoms

Body aches are often experienced in conjunction with other symptoms, which can be helpful in determining the underlying cause of your soreness. Common symptoms you might experience in addition to body aches include:

• Fatigue: You may feel tired, fatigued, exhausted, like its difficult to move, or like your body is heavy or weighed down.
• Chills: You may also shiver, feel abnormally cold without any cause, or complain that you feel chills running through your body.
• Fever: Fevers, or body temperatures of more than 100° F , are often associated with feelings of muscle achiness or soreness.
• Headache: Headaches are another symptom commonly linked to body aches.
• Sore throat: Body aches and sore throat, nasal congestion, or runny nose can be experienced simultaneously.

Simple Activities For Stress Management:

• Close your eyes and take five deep breaths
• Play the alphabet game identify objects in the room that start with each letter of the alphabet
• Engage in light exercise, such as jumping jacks, brisk walking, or yoga
• Take a break outside and enjoy the fresh air
• Write in a journal
• Watch or read something that makes you laugh
• Listen to calming music
• Spend time with a pet

Our emotions play a big role in how our bodies feel. With a multidisciplinary approach to pain management, Dr. Neel Amin is able to tackle the underlying stress and tension causing muscle pain.

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What Causes Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Scientists have been researching chronic fatigue syndrome for many years, but they still don’t know for sure what causes it.

Many doctors believe that the way some conditions interact within the body and mind might leave some people at risk for CFS. For example, if someone has a and is under a lot of stress, the combination of these two things might make them more likely to develop CFS.

These things are believed to interact with each other in this way, putting some people at risk for CFS:

• infections. Experts have wondered if infections like measles or Epstein-Barr virus might increase the risk for CFS. The role Epstein-Barr plays in CFS is not clear because studies have not confirmed it as a cause.
• problems with the immune system or the nervous system
• hormone imbalances
• low blood pressure

Appetite Changes And Weight Gain

Changes in appetite are common during times of stress.

When you feel stressed out, you may find yourself with no appetite at all or overeating without noticing.

One small 2006 study of 272 female college students found that 81 percent reported that they experienced changes in appetite when they were stressed out, with 62 percent stating they had an increase in appetite .

Changes in appetite may also cause fluctuations in weight during stressful periods. For example, a study involving 1,355 people in the United States found that stress was associated with weight gain in adults already living with extra weight .

A third study from 2017 found that individuals with higher cortisol and insulin levels and higher levels of chronic stress were more likely to gain weight in the future . However, the study was limited in the scope of research in that participants were predominantly white females.

While these studies show an association between stress and changes in appetite or weight, more studies are needed to understand other possible factors are involved and how stress impacts different people.

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Gluten Is Connected To Many Forms Of Autoimmune Arthritis

Can gluten cause muscle and joint pain? For genetically susceptible individuals, the intestinal damage caused by gluten in combination with an overactive immune system and chronic state of inflammation leads to celiac disease.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition that causes your immune system to attack your intestines, which creates even more damage and inflammation. But as I mentioned, the inflammatory effects arent limited to your gut. Which is why celiac disease is associated with many other autoimmune conditions. And several of them cause your immune system to attack your muscles and joints, which causes pain.

How To Overcome Stress By Rebuilding And Balancing Your Endocannabinoid System

Remember, to get your body to be able to shut down stress mode and go into safe mode and relaxation and regeneration mode, your endocannabinoid system must be optimized. Without that, youre going to stay stuck in stress mode no matter what you do.

So how do you actually rebuild and rebalance your endocannabinoid system?

Here are a few strategies to start rebuilding your endocannabinoid system:

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I Get Chest Pain And Heart Palpitations

Blame it on: High adrenalin, cortisol and aldosterone

When youre feeling wired your stress hormones:

• Move blood out of some organs to others so your heart has to work harder to shift the blood around.
• Make your blood vessels constrict so that you dont bleed as readily should you suffer a wound. This too puts pressure on your heart.

The end result? You may suffer everything from chest pain to heart palpitations . You may also find it hard to get up the energy to exercise, because your heart is already working harder 24/7 just to get through the day.

Frequent Colds And Infections

Again, short-term stress can actually temporarily increase your immune systems ability to protect you from illness. Chronic stress, however, causes your immune system to tank and leaves you especially susceptible to illness. And again, if stress also disrupts your sleep cycle, your normal exercise routine, or your eating habits, then you are that much more likely to get sick. At Complete Care, we see this happening the most often during the holidays, when overburdened schedules and the cold and flu season combine

If you find yourself frequently getting ill during the holidays, please check out our articles: How to Stay Healthy During the Flu Season and How to Deal with Stress During the Holidays.

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Dr. Frisch is committed to educating his patients on the latest information and technology in orthopedic care. Check out his blog to learn about the latest trends in healthcare.

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As fresh flowers emerge in the springtime, so do seasonal allergies. The main culprit is pollen released into the air by the green grass, mold, trees, and colorful flowers in full bloom. Nasal congestion, itchy eyes, sneezing, and a sore throat are common symptoms. But can seasonal allergies cause joint pain? Yes, they can. Lets look at how seasonal allergies affect your joints:

Many people complain of an increase in joint pain around this time of the year. This is because the pollen in the air lands on your skin, eyes, and nose triggering an allergic reaction in the body. The immune system works hard to fight against the foreign allergens. This causes fatigue and inflammation within the body. The inflammatory reaction spreads to the joints and manifests as joint pain.

Steps to prevent seasonal allergies:

If your joint pain continues even after getting allergy symptoms under control, you should visit an orthopedic doctor for an in-depth evaluation and treatment recommendation.

Treatment Options For Stress

The first thing we do with every patient who has back pain is determine its root cause. Its important to understand that no adult can expect to live 100 percent pain-free or stress-free. However, we can discuss ways to minimize discomfort and help patients feel less tense.

An effective way to reduce stress and back pain is to exercise and stretch more.

Physical activity can release endorphins and improve overall health, which can help reduce stress. Make a point to get up during the work day and do a few laps around the office every few hours, or try a standing desk. At home, reserve time to exercise. Physical therapy also can help relieve spine pain and return your neck and back to optimal flexibility. A physical therapist can show you specific stretches to pinpoint trouble areas in your neck and back.

Eating a healthy diet also can help reduce stress.

When you eat well long term, your general health can improve, and you will likely feel more energetic. Healthy eating is key to weight loss and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight offloads pressure from your spine and improves your posture.

Additionally, its important to make time in your schedule to relax.

Many patients with back pain are very busy with work, family, and social commitments. Carve out time to read a good book, spend time with family and friends, or practice mindfulness or meditation.

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Address Root Causes Of Your Stress

• Seek counseling: if you need to help heal from unresolved trauma or need support for depression.
• Reduce lifes daily stressors: These can add up to big adrenal impacts if they continue day after day. That might mean you get up just 15 minutes earlier so you dont have to rush and have time for breakfast. Or it might mean that you try pull back your mortgage payments so you have more money to get through the week.

A while ago, a woman from our Hormones Balance community contacted me for help with stabilizing her hormones. When she wasnt improving we tried to identify hidden stresses that may be standing in the way of her hormonal balance. She identified that she was suffering stress every morning when she had to walk through an area where she didnt feel safe on her way to work. Once she took a different route, even though it took her a little longer, her stress levels significantly reduced and her hormonal health substantially improved. Its a potent reminder of just how much we are hardwired for survival and as a result, how big even seemingly small stressors can be.

• Address relationship problems and potential abuse: Make time for more intimacy and improved communication with your partner. If youre not in a good place together, read some self-help books together or attend couples counseling. I did a call about abusive relationships , watch it here.

Dont:

Muscle Weakness From Polymyositis

Those who suffer from polymyositis experience weakness in their shoulders, neck, and back, as well as their hips and thighs. The weakness may come on gradually over the course of several months, or may degenerate over a few days. Sometimes body aches and tenderness come with it, too. Although PM can cause a lot of discomfort, it is usually not life-threatening.

For unknown reasons, polymyositis causes your body’s immune system to attack muscle fibers. It comes on after age 20 typically, and is more common in women. The good news is that over time, many people recover partially or completely from PM.

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How To Prevent Allergy Fatigue

The best way to prevent allergy fatigue is to find an effective treatment option for your allergies. The first step in managing allergies and preventing symptoms like fatigue is to find out which specific allergens trigger your reactions. After this diagnosis, there are ways to minimize allergies and avoid fatigue. You can minimize allergy fatigue in several ways:

How Is Fibromyalgia Treated

There’s no cure for fibromyalgia. But treatment can help manage symptoms, ease pain, and improve a person’s overall health and quality of life. Treatments include lifestyle changes and medicines.

Doctors usually ask people to start with lifestyle changes before turning to medicines. Changes doctors may recommend include:

• Regular exercise. Exercise may increase pain at first, but it can help make things better when done gradually and regularly. Some people get help from a physical therapist. Stretching and relaxation exercises can also help.
• Stress-relief methods. These can include yoga, t’ai chi, and other disciplines, as well as light massage, breathing exercises, and acupuncture.
• More sleep. Getting enough sleep is one of the most effective ways to treat fibromyalgia. It can help to avoid caffeine, sugary beverages, and sugary snacks late in the day. It can also help to go to bed and get up at the same time each day and limit napping during the daytime.
• Healthy lifestyle choices. Eating healthy foods can help with fibromyalgia. Doing things you love can help too. Hobbies and other activities not only make people feel good about themselves, they also can distract them from the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

If lifestyle changes don’t help on their own, a doctor may prescribe medicines such as:

• antidepressants: some can ease pain and tiredness, and help with sleep
• anti-seizure medicines: some medicines used to treat epilepsy also can treat fibromyalgia symptoms

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Stress Causes Fatigue By Damaging Your Mitochondria

Chronic psychological stress can also cause uncontrolled oxidative damage in our cells.

You have probably heard of free radicals and antioxidants before i.e. the notion that antioxidants are good because they prevent free radicals from damaging our cells.

It turns out that the common notion of antioxidants as good and free radicals as bad is horribly inaccurate . Preventing damage in your cells is just not as simple as taking a bunch of antioxidant supplements. Thats why the vast majority of research on antioxidant supplementation fails to show benefits. The reality is that we actually have an internal antioxidant defense system inside our cells, and as long as the free radicals do not overwhelm our bodys capacity to handle them, they are not harmful in any way. In fact, they are beneficial to health when at a level that our bodies can handle. Think of exercise exercise actually produces free radicals, or oxidants, and yet is beneficial rather than harmful to our health!

Short-lived things that produce free radicals can be very beneficial, but too much chronic oxidative damage in our cells is a very bad thing.

The key distinction is this:

Basically, when you have a chronic imbalance between the amount of stress occurring vs. your bodys capacity to handle stress, youre going to get oxidative damage.

This chronic uncontrolled oxidative stress can cause a number of problems that will result in low energy levels, but the two biggest are:

I Feel Wired At Bedtime But Exhausted In The Mornings

Blame it on: High and low cortisol at the wrong times of day

When you suffer adrenal fatigue:

You struggle to drag yourself from bed

Your body is clever and registers that your cortisol levels have been chronically high, so it tries to put the brakes on cortisol by reducing its normal daily production. Then instead of the normal peak of cortisol you would get in the morning, you get a flat line.

The impacts can be seen in people who suffer Addisons disease, due to low cortisol and experience extreme fatigue, abdominal pain, depression, decreased appetite and salt cravings .

Interestingly, John F Kennedy suffered from Addisons disease but managed to keep it a secret throughout his presidency.

When on autopsy was conducted after his death his adrenal glands were in such a bad state, there was hardly any tissue left.

Interestingly, he also suffered colitis which may well have been involved in triggering his thyroid issues . Due to his ailments he took steroid drugs which over many years, affected his bones. The resulting chronic back pain led him to wear a back brace to support his degenerating spine.

Youre exhausted and drained, but cant sleep.

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Follow An Adrenal Fatigue Diet

Dont:

• Live on caffeine: That cup of Joe may perk you up but have you stopped to think how? The reason a caffeine hit wakes you up is because it rapidly sends your adrenal hormones skyrocketing. This causes adrenaline to rise by around 32% and noradrenaline to spike by around 14%.

If you are caffeine sensitive, that adrenal rush may be accompanied by shaking, heart palpitations, difficulty sleeping and a general sense of anxiety. So if possible, cut caffeine out. Or at the very least, cut caffeine intake right back. Instead, try my matcha latte it has less caffeine so it is a much gentler stimulant.

• Drop your carbs too low: Research shows that ketogenic-style diets that cut right back on carbs and increase protein, can increase cortisol levels by 18% while also reducing the thyroids T3 hormones.

You dont need extreme measures to ensure you are balancing hormones with food so make sure you eat some healthy carbs such as buckwheat, quinoa and sweet potato.