
The Link Between Chronic Stress and Pain and How to Stop the Cycle
Chronic stress and pain can feed on one another and damage your quality of life. Read on to learn how to stop the cycle.
For pain patients, the distraction of pain creates a scenario of compensatory movement patterns. Patients develop incorrect movement habits to avoid pain and keep moving through their daily life. Unfortunately, these habitual movements and poor body mechanics contribute to continued recurrent pain and flare-ups.
With the challenge of physical injury and the frustration of physical limitations, patients also often display a lack of confidence in their physical abilities and develop a sense of isolation. Under-doing and over-doing contribute to the chronic pain cycle. An increase in pain and symptoms, which we call a “flare up”, often creates a scenario for all or nothing movement.