In short, yes.

Keep reading to learn how and what you can do to reduce pain.

The Autonomic Nervous System

To understand the link between stress and pain, we have to talk about the autonomic nervous system. This system regulates our stress response.

There are 2 parts to this system: the sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system.

The Sympathetic Nervous System

(aka the fight/flight/freeze response)

This is our first reaction to a stressful situation. It is extremely helpful when faced with a dangerous situation, like being faced with a bear.

Where this response becomes an issue is when it comes up in day-to-day situations like getting a stressful email, worrying about an upcoming work meeting, scrolling through IG, or wondering whether or not lifting that laundry basket will “throw out” your back again.

What initially happens when you feel stressed is the adrenaline starts rushing. This happens pretty instantly. You may notice this or you may not.

At about 10 minutes after the stressful situation, we start producing the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is important and we need it but when too much is produced or when it is constantly produced, that can lead to more inflammation. Inflammation leads to increased pain sensitivity so we tend to feel more pain.

Back to the question – can stress cause pain?

So YES, if you were wondering – can stress cause pain.

On top of that, when we feel stressed, we also tend to tense up our muscles, increase blood pressure, heart rate, etc. and lead to other long-term problems.

AKA nervous system dysregulation.

Short term this stress response is protective, but we don’t want this happening unless it’s absolutely necessary!

Long-term, this continuous response can lead to persistent pain (where it becomes hard to find pain relief), constant tight and stiff muscles, burnout, constantly feeling tired, and always being in fear of what will happen next AKA feeling anxious.

The Parasympathetic Nervous System

(aka the rest & digest response)

The rest & digest response is where you want to shift your body to when in a sympathetic (fight/flight) response. This is where you feel calm, can lower inflammation, reduce pain, and just feel overall more comfortable in your body.

As the name suggests, this is where our body can rest and digest our food.

In a true rest state, our body can actually heal. This is where you can eliminate toxins causing inflammation, reduce overall inflammation that is leading to pain and pain sensitivity, and actually start the repair process for any injuries.

Feeling stressed while you eat affects your digestive system, causes food to not properly be digested, reduces nutrients absorbed, and causes inflammation, all leading to pain!

How to shift from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state

There are many things that can help us shift into a restful state. It depends on what you are willing to try and what you enjoy. What works for someone else may not work for you so I encourage you to try different things. The key is to be CONSISTENT regardless of what tools and techniques you use.

Stimulating the vagus nerve is the fastest way to feel a difference and shift from a sympathetic to a parasympathetic state.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember that consistency is key because we are actually rewiring the nerves in your body. Telling them that you are safe. When your nerves are constantly firing and telling your brain there is pain or danger because you are constantly in a flight-or-flight response will take time to unlearn. This is why you want to keep repeating what you do on a daily (or more than once a day) to rewire the brain and have longer-lasting results. Only then will you see that you are less likely to tense up and feel more pain in the body after something stressful. We are working a muscle and it takes time and patience to train it and make lasting changes. So while you may feel temporary relief with these vagus nerve activities, remember to do them even when you are feeling good. Build that resilience. Train your brain.

Breathwork is one of the easiest ways to stimulate the vagus nerve and it doesn’t take very long. You can feel a difference in only a minute. Pair this with meditation (if you want) and get better results. Learn how to do either or both here.

I created a guide that you can download for free right here with some more of my fave ways to relax and it has kept me out of pain for several years!