How to Relieve Back Pain From Anxiety That Keeps Coming Back

March 27, 2025

Back pain is a common type of pain, especially if you experience anxiety. While not all back pain is due to anxiety, it can increase your chances of suffering from it. Learn how to reduce your back pain from anxiety by having helpful items on hand, using practices such as yoga, and making lifestyle changes such as improving your posture.

When you have anxiety-induced back pain, the pain isn't a result of anxiety itself, but is usually your anxiety that is causing your behavior to change. This can increase aches, pains, stress, and muscle tension on your back. Paying attention to your body when you feel anxious can help relieve symptoms immediately or take care of the pain before it even starts.

What Does Anxiety Back Pain Feel Like?

If you don't usually experience back pain from anxiety, then it may be confusing to determine what is actually causing the back pain. Anxiety back pain can take on many different forms such as stiffness or a sharp, stabbing pain in the back. Anxiety can also cause muscle tension which can disrupt your sleep and increase pressure in your back.

What Causes Back Pain From Anxiety?

Anxiety and stress affect the body and can cause several symptoms, such as headaches, dizziness, back pain, and more. Some of these may be a direct effect of anxiety, or it could be a result of a change that you made due to anxiety. Paying attention to your body, such as when and where you experience symptoms, can help you prevent them in the future.

Some causes of back pain from anxiety include:

Lack of physical activity.
Change in posture.
Muscle tension.

1. Lack of Physical Activity

Being physically active can help prevent back pain by keeping your back agile, which helps you avoid aches and pains. If anxiety is the reason why you stopped being physically active, then you may experience back pain as a result. Being inactive can also lead to anxiety, so while it's important to take a break, make sure not to extend that break too long.

2. Change in Posture

Sometimes, anxiety can lead to poor posture, resulting in back pain. The combination of anxiety and poor posture can put your muscles in uncomfortable positions that can lead to back pain. Noticing your poor posture and fixing it immediately is an effective way of learning how to relieve back pain from anxiety.

3. Muscle Tension

When feeling anxious, your muscles can tense up longer than usual. Having prolonged muscle tension can lead to intense pain, including your back. If you feel your back muscles tensing up, try doing a self-massage at home, or use a chair that has massaging features.

How to Relieve Back Pain From Anxiety

Fortunately, there are several different ways on how to relieve back pain from anxiety. Play around with different methods to see which one is the most effective for you. Some ways of how to relieve back pain include incorporating zero gravity recliners into your routine, getting a massage, and knowing what is good posture and how to achieve it.

Sometimes, you need the help of an over-the-counter painkiller to find relief from the pain. Though your pain may be brought on by anxiety, medicine like Tylenol or Advil can help decrease the physical pain. Consult with your doctor if the pain is intense and the medicine isn't helping with the pain.

Ways to relieve back pain from anxiety include:

Investing in a zero gravity chair.
Meditating often.
Knowing back pressure points for stress relief.

1. Investing In a Zero Gravity Chair

Investing in a zero gravity chair is a great way of how to relieve back pain from anxiety. These recliners are ergonomic chairs that evenly distribute your weight when you sit. Evenly distributing your weight has benefits such as increasing flexibility, supporting your spine, and reducing strain on your back.

If you want to reap even more benefits, try a chair with massaging features to help with muscle tension. Benefits of massages include better sleep, improved circulation, and decreased muscle stiffness. Some zero gravity chairs even come with heating features, which could help you find relief from your back pain.

2. Meditate Often

Meditating is a great way to decompress and shift your focus away from your pain. If you have never meditated before, then you may want to try a guided meditation for beginners. Once you get the basics of meditation down, you can meditate anytime and anywhere without someone guiding you.

3. Knowing Back Pressure Points for Stress Relief

Stimulating your back pressure points helps relieve tension in that area and can bring you faster relief. If you can't reach these points on your own, you can use a machine gun, a massage chair, or someone's help to target those pressure points. You can research the best pressure points to help with back pain from stress and anxiety and focus on a few pressure points a day.

How to Prevent Back Pain from Anxiety

While you may not be able to permanently prevent back pain from anxiety, you can learn to stop it before it starts. Ways to prevent back pain from anxiety include correcting your posture, taking anti-inflammatory medicine, and stretching. Find out what works best for you and incorporate that into your regular routine for the best results.

Final Tips on How to Relieve Back Pain from Anxiety

Relieving back pain from stress and anxiety starts with you being aware of your body and how you are feeling. Keep a journal to let you know what starts hurting you, what feeling you were currently feeling when the pain took place, and when it starts hurting. Once you start feeling pain in your back, try one of the remedies listed here and see what works and what doesn't. You may need to switch up your methods depending on the cause of pain.

Disclaimer: This content is not medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare professional when considering implementing changes to your health or workout routines to ensure it’s compatible with your needs.