Understanding Constant Muscle Tension Anxiety and Its Well-Known Signs
Healthful Vitality | 10/26/2021 | Constant Muscle Tension Anxiety
There are two consequences of anxiety, emotional and physical responses. Underlying hormonal changes cause both these responses. Muscle tension anxiety is one of the physical responses to anxiety.
In fact, physical signs are generally more readily identified than mental issues. Thus, people with anxiety are more likely to seek medical help for muscle tension, palpitation, headaches, heart issues, gastrointestinal disorders.
Anxiety causes the whole body to become tense. However, what part of the body becomes tense would differ. For example, in some, it could be tight jaws and in others fists, while others may complain of shoulder aches, neck pain, and other issues.
Some of the well-known signs of muscle tension anxiety are:
Changes in breathing pattern:
When tense, a person may have increased respiration rate, yet a person would complain about it as if there is not enough air. It is because breathing is superficial in such individuals. That is why deep breathing helps so much in anxiety. One may sometimes need to take control of the breathing process, relax, fill the lungs with air to maximum and then exhale. Repeating it multiple times reduces muscle tension and helps with anxiety.
Tight tension in various body parts:
It may cause shoulder pains, neck pains, jaw pain, and even chest and stomach aches. It is because of individual differences. Thus, people react to anxiety by making muscles tense, mostly involuntarily. It means that measures like massage, physiotherapy, exercise, yoga may help relieve muscle tension in various body parts.
Increased heart rate:
As the body prepares for threat, it increases heart rate to boost energy supply to skeletal muscles. Thus, the body readies itself for fight or flight. However, in chronic stress, it is not needed. Moreover, continually elevated heart rate may cause palpitations, headaches, and chest pain. It may also cause hypertension.
Calming the cardiovascular system is more challenging than reducing some local muscle tension. In such conditions, exercise helps quite well due to its broader health benefits. Other means could be practicing mindfulness and even having a nap.
Cold hand and feet:
Stress response prepares the body for the worst. Thus, it starts pumping more blood to vital organs. This process is often called the centralization of blood. It means lower blood supply to hands and feet. This is felt as cold hands and feet.
Anxious stomach:
It is one of the less wanted adverse effects of high stress. Stress hormones alter stomach motility, causing increased acidity, changes in appetite. It may even cause severe gastric irritation.
Constant muscle tension is one of the signs of anxiety and chronic stress. Therefore, it is essential to manage these signs early enough before they cause irreversible changes in the body.
It is also vital to understand that constant muscle tension is just one of the signs, though more readily identified signs of stress and anxiety.
Generally, medications are not the best way to relieve this tension as they fail or tackle the underlying cause. Thus, a more effective way of managing is to identify the stressors, alter the response, and practice various relaxation or destressing techniques.
(Related Article: Best Stress Busters for Acute and Chronic Stress)