My body is always tense, AS related?

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For years now I have always had a markedly tense neck and shoulders, as well as the rest of my body being tense, to the point that people comment on it when I'm hanging out or working (customers, i'm a cashier at a grocery store atm). I don't have an injury, so I can only venture to guess that the culprit behind the tension is stress.

My questions are, first of all, does having AS set me as having a propensity toward stiff, tense muscles? I always read on the symptom list about rigid, influid body movements / motor skills, and can identify fully with that. Also, regardless of whether theres an AS link or not, what can be done to decompress the tension in my shoulders and neck?

I don't know if it's related to AS, but I can relate. It's no wonder that I'm constantly fidgety and never stop moving. I’m never comfortable.

hi all

definitely have some major issues with physical tension. am diagnosed, and it was mentioned in my report that i have "awkward movement and rigidity". no suprise there. always uncomfortable. i just dont seem to be able to shake it off. its as if i am somehow just nowhere near as relaxed or flexible as others around me (i know... ive tried to copy what i see them doing...stance and movement wise). i used to think it was a problem with my hips, then realised it was my shoulders and neck too. a few years back i also developed rsi (though its never been stated as such by the doctor). i sometimes think that i should have it checked out. i mean, it cant be good to be so damn awkward and tense can it? sometimes its a cause for worry... what is it? is it the signs of something i should be worrying about? is it just a reaction to not fitting in and being relaxed in the world (or myself). nightmare!

i also grind my teeth at night (which was a recent discovery). sometimes it feels like i need the worlds most powerful sedative injected in huge quantities right into my brain! i assume that the physical tension stems from mental tension. well... it better had... or im screwed. lol

love to hear if anyone has any insight into this. i assume that it IS aspie related... but ive yet to see any information on the problem.

in short... i wont be trying out for team graceful ninja any time soon.

r

I think it must be, because I've always felt the same way. Never comfortable. My posture is rather awful, too. I cannot sit still for the life of me.

I have a tendency to be tense. I almost have to keep telling my body to stop it. It creeps in. I think it comes with extra sensory sensitivity, there's not a sound or a sight that doesn't seem to twang me like a guitar string.

I don't know if its related to AS, but I know that I'm to the point of having stretches from physical therapy to help with the tension, and on and off dealing with chronic tension headaches along with the other headaches of mine.

I'll tense up when I'm afraid, but the default tension status of the muscles in my upper back, shoulders, and neck in the past few years has been to the point of trying medications and physical therapy.

It's intriguing to see that being more stilted and tense seems to be an attribute in a fair number of people with AS, I mean everyone that felt they had something to add to this post goes through this to varying degrees.

Myself, I always am almost paralyzed it feels like when I hang out, like I talk fine, but I sort of stay in the same place and don't arch over to mess around with people or anything, and twitch sometimes while i'm talking.

Yes, I am usually tense. My shoulders are almost always like that, even when I'm supposedly having a good time. People comment on it, because I think it contributes to poor posture. My abdomen, too, is often very tense. I will realize it and relax the muscles. It's like I've been carrying around some huge weight all day... and then a few minutes later, I'll notice myself doing the same thing again.

I also grind my teeth at night (which I did not know about until last year). I guess some people just naturally have high levels of anxiety/tension that they carry with them everyday.

i agree with you to,i need a proper dose of adivan just to be functional im so tense and nervious

That is the first thing people notice about me...
people: "Why do you look so tense?"
Me: "I don't know."
Them: smile at me in a patronizing manner(and prolly wonder how someone can look so tensed.)
Me: (Thinking to myself) Are my feelings that obvious?

I am thinking it has to with balancing myself. I feel more in control when I am all rigid. I also worry a lot all the time so I have a tensed look almost always

Last edited by pree10shun on 13 Aug 2011, 1:34 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, my body is always tensed--especially my shoulders. I should probably get deep tissue massages more often...

I grind my teeth as well... Friends and ex boyfriends usually try to tell me to "relax"--even when I do not notice that my body is all tensed up...

i'm also usually tense, especially in the shoulder-neck area.
however, i have traced the couse of that tenseness to being a difference in 'natural' and 'learned' posture.
i have learned at a young age that i should stand straight up, back straight, shoulders back; but my natural posture is more slouched; curved back and shoulders front.
this difference couses stress, especially on the shoulders, which translates into tenseness...

to me it was a perpetual feeling of being tense and stressed out that would lead to meltdowns. Kinda like stress never dissapates it just builds.
leading to a state of anxiety and frustration that makes any other activity impossible.

your tension is probably in your face - I used to have a lot of tension there too (when I looked in the mirror I had an expression like I'd just seen a mass open grave or something). What has helped me is to completely tense the muscles in my face, as if I'm doing an insane smile, and hold for, e.g. a minute, and then relax...and the tension goes away...I do that nearly every morning now and it's made a huge difference.

I still have a lot of tension in my legs and arms and try similar tensing/relaxing exercises although it hasn't worked as well in those areas (maybe because they're a lot more tense, I don't know).

I look ok when I am practicing yoga. If I stop practicing yoga for a week I look like a wreck.. esp., when somethings depressing me. Maybe yoga could help you too.

Interesting. Thanks, I'll look into it.