Stress Made Me Do It: How Tension May Rewrite Your Posture
A biomechanical explanation of stress, tension, and why your ears wear your shoulders as earrings
Have you every clenched your jaw while reading work emails? How about shrugging your shoulders without noticing? Have caught yourself breathing like a panicked squirrel? That may be from the stress you’re under. Stress does not just live in your mind. Stress has posture, and your nervous system may be broadcasting that stress throughout your body.
Stress = A Physical State
As you may have read in some of our other blog posts, your body activates the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) when you are stressed. Your nervous system doesn’t understand that the threat is from your desk job and not a bear chasing you.
Sympathetic Nervous System causes:
increased muscle tone
reduced joint mobility
shallow breathing
postural flexion
From an evolutionary perspective, this made sense: Protect the organs and prepare to move fast.
From a modern perspective? It may wreck your neck.
📚 Research shows psychological stress directly increases muscle activity in the neck, shoulders, and jaw (Lundberg et al., J Electromyogr Kinesiol).
What Stress Does to Posture (Mechanically)
Chronic stress encourages:
forward head posture
rounded shoulders
thoracic flexion
jaw clenching
elevated resting muscle tone
This isn’t reversed evolution and laziness. It’s neurology. Your muscles are “on” when they should be resting.
📚 EMG studies confirm stress increases baseline muscle activation even at rest (Lundberg, Eur J Appl Physiol).
Why This Leads to Pain
Muscles held in prolonged low-level contraction may lead to muscle fatigue, efficiency loss, and restricted blood flow. Prolonged muscle contraction may also create trigger points.
Add poor breathing mechanics and reduced movement, and suddenly you’re having neck pain, upper back aches, jaw clicking, and permanent shoulder shrugging.
Not because you’re weak but because you’re stressed and human.
Breathing: The Missing Link
How we breathe affects how we stand. Stress shifts breathing into the upper chest. Upper chest breathing will limit movement of the diaphragm and increase overuse of our neck muscles such as our scalene muscles. As a result, this can reduce our spinal stability.
📚 Research shows altered breathing patterns are associated with neck pain and postural dysfunction (Kolar et al., J Appl Biomech).
How Chiropractic Care Fits In
Unfortunately, chiropractors aren’t genies. Many of us wish we could just completely remove our patient’s stress with each adjustment. Although Chiropractic care does not “remove stress,” it does help address the physical consequences from stress.
Here’s how:
✔ Reducing excessive muscle tone
Manual therapy can reduce resting muscle activity and improve comfort.
✔ Improving thoracic and rib mobility
Better rib movement = better breathing mechanics.
✔ Supporting parasympathetic activity
Some studies suggest manual therapy may influence autonomic balance (Vernon, J Electromyogr Kinesiol).
✔ Helping posture feel possible again
You can’t “sit up straight” if your joints don’t move and your muscles won’t let go.
The Real Solution Isn’t Perfect Posture
Perfect posture doesn’t exist. Even with the straightest posture, either standing or seated, things can creep up over time.
Here’s what works:
frequent movement
breathing well
reducing pain
restoring joint motion
lowering physical stress load
Posture improves when the body feels safe enough to relax.
Final Thoughts
Stress doesn’t just affect your mood, stress shapes your posture, your breathing, and your movement patterns. If your shoulders live near your ears, your body is overwhelmed, not necessarily broken.
Address the stress.
Address the mechanics.
And let chiropractic care help unwind what modern life ties in knots.
References
Lundberg U, et al. Psychophysiological stress and muscle tension. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology.
Lundberg U. Stress responses in neck and shoulder muscles. European Journal of Applied Physiology.
Kolar P, et al. Breathing patterns and postural stability. Journal of Applied Biomechanics.
Vernon H. Autonomic effects of spinal manipulation. J Electromyogr Kinesiol.
National Institutes of Health (NIH). Stress physiology and musculoskeletal health.
Educational Purposes Only Disclaimer
The information provided in these articles is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Reading these articles does not establish a doctor–patient relationship. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding individual health concerns or treatment decisions.