YOUR PHYSIO
Mental health and MSK health
Anxiety and MSK health
Anxiety is a term used to describe a feeling of worry, apprehension or fear. Usually, when someone is anxious, they will experience emotional and physical symptoms such as a fast heart beat or even panic attacks. Anxiety can be linked to musculoskeletal health because pain can be a source of anxiety. This is particularly the case when the reason for pain symptoms are poorly understood, or when a person feels overwhelmed or unable to cope with pain.
Anxiety related to musculoskeletal pain can be reduced through understanding the cause of your pain and establishing a sense of control over your symptoms. The resources on this website are designed to inform you about common musculoskeletal problems and the self-help solutions available and may go some way towards this goal. If you would prefer to see us on a one to one basis please speak to your GP about a referral.
As with stress, it is really important to understand the relationship between your anxiety and your musculoskeletal pain and where possible try and deal with both symptoms together. The MIND website provides a wealth of information on self-help strategies for anxiety.
Cardiovascular exercise is known to reduce the symptoms of anxiety as well as being beneficial to your musculoskeletal health. Staying active is therefore a brilliant strategy for managing both things simultaneously.
For more information on pacing your activity, and staying active with musculoskeletal pain, click here.
Relaxation is also a useful non medical treatment for anxiety.
You can access the Laura Mitchell relaxation technique here:
A written guide is available here.