Stress and Musculoskeletal Complaints

An important adage is: correlation doesn’t equal causation. One can assume one's neck or back hurts because of stress. Or one could investigate to see if stress and symptoms are simply correlated and not causal. An key step is to specifically look for a musculoskeletal cause to musculoskeletal complaints. It’s quite common that when people report stress they also report more time hunched over a computer or books or postures or activities that are different than what is typical for them. If there’s a musculoskeletal cause, then it’s almost always fixed with specific movements and postural changes. If the true cause is stress, then there are varied treatments aimed at generalized stress relief (not my domain of expertise). -- Laura