Quick question?

[KevinMcGovern1]

Can anxiety or stress cause really bad muscle pain or back pain? Was wondering because I've been pretty bad lately with my anxiety and my muscles and back have been in pain and have been worrying me. :unsure:

[Annie0904]

Yes it can because when you are anxious you tense your muscles up more and find it hard to relax.

[Fishmanpa]

From the "Symptoms" link:

Muscles, muscle tension, stiffness, muscle twitching, tight scalp or neck

What you feel:

You feel like your muscles are always tight or strained, sometimes to the point of frequent pain, or even persistent and ongoing pain. Some may also find the pain so restricting and debilitating that it prevents physical activity, and sometimes to the point of becoming bed ridden. It's also common to experience pain or cramps in any of the body's muscles.

A particular joint in your body feels unusually stiff and sore, or hard to move. It may even feel arthritic. Sometimes you feel you may be 'seizing up'.
For no apparent reason, a particular muscle will begin to twitch. This twitching will continue for an unusual amount of time before it stops of its own accord. Sometimes it twitches so long it becomes sore, and may continue on and off for days.

You may feel that your scalp is sore, has shooting pains, or that the back of your neck and head are very tense. Even though there is no apparent reason for this, they continue to.

What causes this:

Stress biology causes muscles to contract (tighten) so that the body is more resilient to an attack. The higher the stress biology, the more tense the muscles will be. Some people experience mild tenseness while others may experience great pain, sometimes to the point of immobility. Others experience uncontrollable muscle twitching. It can be one particular muscle over and over again, or it can be a wide variety of muscles. Sometimes the twitching can last for days.

Regular exercise helps to keep tight muscles relaxed. Some find relief through massage therapy or warm baths.

As with all symptoms, when the nervous system gets sufficient rest, this symptom will diminish and eventually subside.