Ben Simmons Disc Injury

I have suggested that Ben Simmons has an anxiety disorder. When someone gets a twinge of back pain, as we all do, but has an anxiety disorder, they get extremely anxious about it. This causes muscle tension, particularly in ligaments and tendons around the nerves that exit the spine. It also causes s small vessels, like capillaries, which go to the nerve to construct, depriving the nerve of blood and causing pain. That pain makes the person more anxious and so are vicious cycle begins, that can end in disabling pain, where the patient cannot walk.

It would not be surprising if Ben Simmons was anxious about his debut with the Nats and that the anxiety manifested itself in this back pain. It would be a way, unconsciously, to avoid the embarrassment and humiliation that I mentioned in my last blog. A graceful exit, if you will. This is all conjecture, of course, but I wanted to offer my two cents as a psychiatrist and someone who knows a lot about back pain.