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redfish wrote:

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Gotta disagree with ya doc. PTSD can cause a multitude of physical complications. Not to mention the meds will keep ya down. To start off, obesity. Obesity brings on OSA, joint pain and back pain. OSA can cause heart issues and complicate our respiratory system. Anxiety can cause increased heart rate and respiratory rate. This can cause pain. This can cause HTN. This can cause heart failure. Byy increasing the size and speed of your breathing, this increases your intrathoracic pressure which lowers your venous blood return from your extremities which can cause heart failure. The increased thoracic pressure can increase the workload on your heart. PTSD can cause ulcers, GERD, vomitting and or diarhea. PTSD can cause chronic pain in your spine. PTSD can exacerbate Asthma. Many times I'll be so anxious and jumpy all day I won't eat. Then that makes me feel like crap too. Here is a couple of sources:

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/ptsd-physical-health.asp

http://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/pages/chronic-pain-ptsd-providers.asp

From the link you posted above, see the bold section.

What is the relationship between physical health and PTSD?

A growing body of literature has found a link between PTSD and physical health. Some studies have found that PTSD explains the association between exposure to trauma and poor physical health. In other words, trauma may lead to poor health outcomes because of PTSD. When health problems are measured by self-report, there is a clear association with PTSD for veterans and active duty personnel, civilian men and women, firefighters, and adolescents. Those who report that they have PTSD symptoms are more likely to have a greater number of physical health problems than those who do not have PTSD.

Similar results are found when physical health is measured by physician report or by laboratory tests. PTSD also has been found to be associated with greater medical service utilization for physical health problems. At present, however, an association between PTSD and illness via physician diagnosis and medical service utilization has only been examined in veteran populations. Further research is indicated to examine PTSD, physical illness, and medical service utilization in both veteran and other traumatized populations.

Existing research has not been able to determine conclusively that PTSD causes poor health. Thus, caution is warranted in making a causal interpretation of what is presented here. It may be the case that something associated with PTSD is actually the cause of greater health problems. For example, it could be that a factor associated with PTSD, such as smoking, is the actual cause of the increased health problems. This is not likely, however, given that we know that PTSD is associated with poor physical health even when behavioral factors such as smoking are controlled.

PTSD may promote poor health through a complex interaction between biological and psychological mechanisms. The National Center for PTSD and other laboratories around the world are studying these mechanisms. Current thinking is that the experience of trauma brings about neurochemical changes in the brain. These changes may have biological, as well as psychological and behavioral, effects on one's health. For example, these neurochemical changes may create a vulnerability to hypertension and atherosclerotic heart disease that could explain in part the association with cardiovascular disorders. Research also shows that these neurochemical changes may relate to abnormalities in thyroid and other hormone functions, and to increased susceptibility to infections and immunologic disorders associated with PTSD.

The psychological and behavioral effects of PTSD on health may be accounted for in part by comorbid depressive and anxiety disorders. Many people with PTSD also experience depressive disorders or other disorders. Depressed individuals report a greater number of physical symptoms and use more medical treatment than do individuals who are not depressed. Depression also has been linked to cardiovascular disease in previously healthy populations and to additional illness and mortality among patients with serious medical illness. PTSD also may be related to poor health through symptoms of comorbid anxiety or panic. The evidence linking anxiety to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is quite strong, but the mechanisms are largely unknown.

Hostility, or anger, is another possible mediator of the relationship between PTSD and physical health. It is commonly associated with PTSD and decades of research on the health risks associated with the Type A behavior pattern have isolated hostility as a crucial factor in cardiovascular disease. PTSD and poor health also may be mediated in part by behavioral risk factors for disease such as smoking, substance abuse, diet, and lack of exercise.

Little is known about how coping and social support relate to health in PTSD, but it is likely that both play important roles. Further research is needed to better understand these potential protective factors.

What specific health problems are related to PTSD?

There is not a lot of information about what specific health problems are associated with PTSD. Many studies have not looked at specific health problems but instead report only the number of overall health problems associated with PTSD. Some studies have examined specific health problems, but these problems have been primarily self-reported. However, there is some evidence to indicate PTSD is related to cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, and musculoskeletal disorders. There is also one study with similar findings that evaluated physician diagnosed disorders and PTSD in relation to specific body systems.

A number of studies have found an association between PTSD and poor cardiovascular health. These studies found that self-report of circulatory disorders and symptoms of cardiovascular trouble were each associated with PTSD in veteran populations, civilian men and women, and male firefighters. Among studies that have examined PTSD in relation to cardiovascular illness via physician diagnosis or laboratory findings, PTSD has been consistently associated with a greater likelihood of cardiovascular morbidity. In a recent study, researchers used electrocardiogram (ECG) findings to compare the cardiovascular function of Vietnam veterans with PTSD to the cardiovascular function of veterans without PTSD.

After controlling for risk factors such as alcohol consumption, weight, current substance abuse, and smoking, in addition to controlling for current medication use, PTSD was found to be associated with nonspecific ECG abnormalities, atrioventricular conduction defects, and infarctions. Because the PTSD group in this study included only those veterans with severe PTSD, it is important to interpret this study with caution. It is unknown whether men with less severe PTSD would show the same ECG abnormalities. It is also important to be cautious about generalizing the findings in this study since there have been no studies specifically evaluating cardiovascular morbidity and PTSD in women.

Docnsiam wrote:This is not likely, however, given that we know that PTSD is associated with poor physical health even when behavioral factors such as smoking are controlled.

The Old Medic wrote:

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Depends on what you mean by mobility. If you mean can it cause you to withdraw, and not want to go out and be active, then the answer is yes.

If you mean, can it cause you to lose the physical ability to be mobile, then the answer is no.