Muscle tightness after mental or cognitive stress is something all of us have experienced. I was five years old when I was first treated for dislocated ribs. It was several days and a lot of drama before my parents stopped gaslighting me and took me to a doctor. To avoid drama in the future and not to annoy my parents I learned to live with pain and found ever more protective postures. When I was 25 I could no longer find a position in which I was not in pain. Again, I started seeking help from orthopedics. They concluded I was thin and active so there wasn’t anything seriously wrong. „But can you live with it?“ she ask. „Yes.“ I have lived in pain all my live. It took over a year to get a prescription for physiotherapy.
Granted, co-dependents like me don’t suffer very well. We tend to downplay our pain. And after 20 year a lot has accumulated. Every week my physiotherapist has to put my rips back in place again. After reading this scientific paper I think I understand why my rips don’t just stay where are supposed to.
During a fight & flight response certain muscles are active. Even if we are not actually fighting or running away. In this study they measured the activity of these muscles while the participants performed cognitive tasks (e.g. word reading and color naming).
The upper trapezius which is attached to the skull, the spine and the shoulder blades.
The biceps and triceps in the upper arm.
The flexor policies brevis in the thumb.
The gastrocnemius in the calf.
The soleus that runs from the knee to the heel.
First, the participants muscle activity was recorded during a control task (CT). Then they had to complete two stressful tasks (ST) in a row.
The asterisk (*) you see in their results mean there was a significant change between the two measuring points. In all six muscles tension increases when a stressful task is first completed (ST1). However, in a second stressful task (ST2) the muscle tension significantly decreases. The body is adapting, we are getting used to the stress. Except the upper trapezius. During the second stressful task the trapezius was as tense as the first time. The authors concluded that this is a potential risk for neck problems for people that have high psychological stress at home or at work.
My trapezius muscle is still very tense. Understandably so, since it hadn’t had a break in the 27 years I was associated with my parents. Only now that my bones are getting back into place, I can do proper exercise to stretch my muscles. Controlling and compulsive as my behavior is, I meticulously did all those exercises that are frequently recommended. But now I am actually feeling their benefits. I am gaining completely new bodily feelings. It is incredible that I never knew what it feels like to stand up straight with a proud chest. Although it looked like I was standing up straight for everyone else. There was such a dissonance between me and other people. It is extremely healing to leave pain behind and welcome feeling back into my body.
(1) The trapezius muscle uniquely lacks adaptive process in response to a repeated moderate cognitive stressor (2012) M. Willmann, B. Bolmont
