Stress Is Causing Your Tightness

When I am stressed, it flares up my auto immune disease. Not instantly, but normally when the stress is over. I can go from being a normal 33 year old, to not being able to walk...at all..

Every time i had something important coming up i would flare up. At first I thought it was bad luck, then I put two and two together and understood it was stress.

Now I'm the WORST person to tell you how to deal with stress.

However, some people i see at my massage room in Saffron Walden, do not play any sports and have a fairly flexible job where they are not at a desk all day or do manual labour, yet they have some seriously tight backs.

They also, don't look "crooked" or have bad posture. But they are normally always highly stressed, or have been through a very stressefull time

So, is stress causing your tightness ?

HOW STRESS IS MESSING YOU UP!

1. Fight-or-flight tension - When you’re stressed, your body releases adrenaline and cortisol. These hormones prepare you for “fight or flight” by tightening muscles, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back. If the stress doesn’t pass, those muscles stay tight.

   
   

2. Micro-contractions you don’t notice - Stress can cause tiny, ongoing muscle contractions you’re often unaware of. Over time, these micro-contractions build up and feel like “knots” or stiffness.

   
   

3. Jaw and neck hotspot - Many people unconsciously clench their jaw or hunch their shoulders when stressed. This not only tightens muscles but can also trigger headaches or even jaw pain (TMJ issues).

1. Stress can reduce recovery - High cortisol levels from chronic stress slow down your body’s ability to repair muscle tissue, so tension lasts longer after workouts or physical strain.

   
   

2. Mind-body loop - Muscle tightness itself signals to your brain that you’re under pressure. This can reinforce the stress cycle, making it harder to relax physically and mentally.

   
   

3. Breathing link - Stress often leads to shallow chest breathing instead of deep belly breathing. This overuses accessory breathing muscles (neck, shoulders, upper chest), which weren’t designed to stay active all day, leading to stiffness.

THE JAW!!

When I have someone who is stressed, I always try to massage the jaw. You would not believe the amount on tension we hold here.

Honestly, if you're still reading this, you HAVE to give yourself a jaw massage! You will feel so much tension melt away and combined with some deep breath work, you will feel brand new.

Here is some self jaw massage skills > https://youtube.com/shorts/m3wyRzfLvPs?si=d4gZ5sj8jCaC-aXT

Now, rub your jaw like you saw in the video and then head back to YouTube and find some relaxing breath work.

So, if you have a bad back and not much is helping, it could be stress... and I wish I knew the answer on how to stop stress...but i don't, but just be aware that this might be the cause of the tightness. Book for a deep tissue massage in Saffron Walden.