{"id":250,"date":"2019-04-11T19:31:26","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T19:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/momentum-chiro.com\/?p=250"},"modified":"2019-04-11T19:31:26","modified_gmt":"2019-04-11T19:31:26","slug":"how-chiropractic-can-reduce-stress-symptoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momentum-chiro.com\/how-chiropractic-can-reduce-stress-symptoms\/","title":{"rendered":"How Chiropractic Can Reduce Stress Symptoms"},"content":{"rendered":"
Once upon a time, a saber-tooth tiger might have wanted you for lunch.<\/p>\n
While that\u2019s unlikely to happen today, other stressful episodes\u2013like someone swerving into your lane on the freeway\u2013can quickly put your body into fight-or-flight mode, gearing up for a possible attack.<\/p>\n
Your body responds identically whether you experience or simply\u00a0perceive<\/em>\u00a0that potential attack.<\/p>\n In other words, whether you\u00a0think\u00a0<\/em>someone might swerve into your lane or they actually do, your stress response activates the exact same way: Your brain signals your adrenal glands to release hormones like cortisol to help you cope with that stressor.<\/p>\n \u201cStress can be physical, emotional, psychological, environmental, infectious, or a combination of these,\u201d says James Wilson, ND, DC, Ph.D., in\u00a0Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome.<\/em>\u00a0\u201cIt is important to know that your adrenals respond to every kind of stress the same, whatever the source.\u201d<\/p>\n At its source, any kind of stress threatens homeostasis or balance. When something becomes out of balance \u2014 in this case, the repercussions of stress on your mental or physical health \u2014 your stress response scrambles to alleviate that stressor and restore equanimity.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are faced with a stressful situation, the adrenals produce hormones that allow the body to divert energy away from day-to-day maintenance and put it all toward getting you through the task at hand,\u201d says Alan Christianson, ND, in\u00a0The Adrenal Reset Diet<\/em>.<\/p>\n That fight-or-flight response can protect you, help you stay focused and alert, and even keep you alive. Any system your body doesn\u2019t need \u2014 say digestion \u2014 takes a backseat as\u00a0your body gears up to help you survive a potential catastrophe<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the short term, stress works wonderfully.<\/p>\n But that hormonal response cascade should do its job and then simmer down. When it doesn\u2019t \u2014 when your adrenal glands stay fired up producing cortisol and other hormones when you no longer need them \u2014\u00a0chronic\u00a0<\/em>stress oftentimes results.<\/p>\n Chronic stress can\u00a0wreak havoc on your body and mind<\/a>. This low-grade, simmering type of stress can\u00a0manifest in many ways<\/a>, including:<\/p>\n On a practical level, that low-grade chronic stress impacts your daily decisions that adversely affect overall health.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re constantly stressed, you\u2019re less likely to exercise. You might reach for chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, or a few glasses of red wine to dampen your feelings. You sleep less deeply, which subsequently makes you more stressed.<\/p>\n On a mental level, feeling nearly constantly stressed means you\u2019re less likely to make solid decisions, you snap at coworkers easily, and your overall peace of mind takes a downward spiral.<\/p>\n But chronic stress also manifests in physical ways. Keeping your body\u2019s stress response fired up on all cylinders when it should taper down\u00a0contributes to many pathological processes<\/a>including chronic pain disorders, immune disorders, cardiovascular disorders, metabolic disease, and behavior disorders.<\/p>\n In fact, pain and stress\u00a0overlap significantly<\/a>. Both disrupt your body\u2019s homeostasis, adversely impact cognitive function, disrupt wellbeing, and so much more.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s where chiropractic care can help: Visiting your chiropractor regularly can potentially have a positive impact on managing chronic stress and its wide-ranging repercussions.<\/p>\n Many mental and physical repercussions of chronic stress impact your spine. In fact, spinal abnormalities are an often-overlooked physical manifestation of chronic stress.<\/p>\n Consider someone\u2019s posture when they become stressed out. They hold their body differently. Their muscles get tense. Their breathing patterns change. Those stress-related physical changes can shift your vertebral alignment, contributing to spinal abnormalities.<\/p>\n Animal studies show that repeated stress\u00a0adversely impacts spinal volume and size<\/a>. Further studies confirm chronic stress can\u00a0impact the quality of your spine<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPersistent tension can also cause muscles to contract and the\u00a0spine to become locked in an abnormal position<\/a>, interfering with the nervous system\u2019s proper functioning,\u201d notes the Palmer College of Chiropractic blog. \u201cThis can impair the body\u2019s immune response and slow healing.\u201d<\/p>\n A vicious cycle occurs. Poor spinal health impacts physical health and increases stress levels, while stress subsequently impacts spinal health. After all, nearly\u00a0every<\/em>\u00a0bodily function interconnects with your spine.<\/p>\n Consider, then, the little stressors \u2014 the seemingly small but cumulative daily habits \u2014 that create havoc on your spine. You might wake up in a poorly supportive mattress or pillows. You might have tossed and turned or slept abnormally.<\/p>\n Then you might rush through breakfast, grab a massive cup of coffee on your way to work, sit improperly at your desk all day, get reprimanded by your boss, and feel the pressure of deadlines looming.<\/p>\n All of these things increase stress levels and take their toll on your spine. The\u00a0type\u00a0<\/em>of stress differs, but they trigger the same stress response. Regular chiropractic care is how we keep these abnormalities at bay.<\/p>\n \u201cProper spinal alignment is the first step for reducing stress,\u201d says Dr. Kevin Lynch, Kentucky Chiropractor, \u201cWhen the spine is misaligned, the nervous system is\u00a0unable to properly send messages through the body<\/a>. Better spinal alignment means better communication and increased system efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n After all, your spine is the anchor of your body and the center of health. Whatever interferes with your spine \u2014 in this case, chronic stress \u2014 also interferes with your body\u2019s natural function.<\/p>\n Abnormalities in the alignment of the spine are called\u00a0subluxations:\u00a0<\/em>The slips, misalignments, restrictions, affected nerves, and either pain or asymptomatic quirks that adversely impact your spine and health.<\/p>\n We call these subluxations\u00a0interferences<\/em>\u00a0because they cause interference in the natural function of the body. Because your nervous system controls all organs of the body, interferences will naturally cause dysfunction beyond the spine.<\/p>\n Interference can show up in countless ways, and chief among them are the festering, low-grade stressors we call chronic stress. In fact, most sources of interference can be grouped into one of three categories of stressors:<\/p>\n Perhaps the most dramatic impact of chronic stress is physical.\u00a0 Chronic stress increases chronic inflammation, a driver for\u00a0numerous diseases<\/a>. In fact, researchers connect\u00a075 \u2013 90 percent of human diseases<\/a>\u00a0with chronic stress.<\/p>\n That pro-inflammatory response can affect the discs, ligaments, and tendons around your spine. All of that contributes to pain and creates spinal abnormalities that wreak havoc far beyond your spine.<\/p>\n Consider stress\u2019s\u00a0impact on your immune system<\/a>. One meta-analysis of more than 300 empirical articles over 30 years found\u00a0psychological stress impacted the immune system<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sleep loss and chronic stress likewise form a vicious cycle, sharing multiple pathways that\u00a0affect the central nervous system and metabolism<\/a>. Poor sleep can exacerbate stress, and vice versa, contributing to metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes.<\/p>\n Injuries, physically demanding work, a sedentary lifestyle, unreasonably strenuous exercise, and poor breathing can also block oxygenation and nutrients. They all take their toll on your spine and overall health.<\/p>\n Any<\/em>\u00a0instance where your body becomes mistreated, misused, and maladjusted may become a physical stressor and interfere with innate processes that should lead to health.<\/p>\n More subtle \u2014 but equally impacting chronic stress and its repercussions \u2014 are the countless environmental toxins we are exposed to daily.<\/p>\n Cleaning products, cosmetics, medications we take, and even the food and water we consume bombards your body with toxins that have\u00a0an immediate, but also cumulative impact<\/a>. This constant bombardment keeps your lungs, skin, and digestive tract on high alert, creating low-grade stress to the body.<\/p>\n Molly Miller at the University of California San Francisco discusses the \u201clong, long list of chemicals we encounter every day in our homes, schools, workplaces, and communities. And scientists\u00a0have barely scratched the surface<\/a>\u00a0of understanding them. Of the thousands and thousands of chemicals registered with the [Environmental Protection Agency] for use by industry, the agency has regulated only a few.\u201d<\/p>\n Stress can also dramatically impact mental and emotional health,\u00a0manifesting as mood disturbances<\/a>\u00a0including anxiety, depression, and irritability. That stress can\u00a0also impact<\/a>\u00a0your memory, concentration, sex drive, and much more.<\/p>\n We move through life at such a rapid pace, thriving on staying busy and multitasking. Juggling multiple tasks or \u201cburning the midnight oil\u201d to complete a work project takes its emotional toll on your spine.<\/p>\n Work-related stress can likewise lead to\u00a0physical illness, psychological distress, and mental illness<\/a>. That cumulative stress can create spinal interferences while knocking hormones like cortisol out of balance.<\/p>\n Although stress falls into specific categories, they all impact the body similarly. Managing stress becomes crucial to maintaining health and happiness, and chiropractic care provides an effective method for helping to manage stress.<\/p>\n One study among 12 men found numerous improvements, including\u00a0lower<\/a>\u00a0stress levels and better quality of life<\/a>, for those who implemented chiropractic care.<\/p>\n In fact, visiting a chiropractor is often the simplest change you can make to remove the interferences \u2014 in this case, constant stressors \u2014 that impact your health and happiness in so many ways.<\/p>\n While external actions matter, your body\u2019s ability to respond and adapt to the environment matters more. From this perspective, chiropractic care identifies those interferences, reduces or removes them, and better enables the body harness its innate powers to heal on its own.<\/p>\n Chiropractors also focus on personalized patient care and can you help manage stress levels uniquely and provide you an individualized protocol that best suits you.<\/p>\n Chiropractors can design a dietary and lifestyle protocol that includes the right foods, exercise, relaxation techniques, and other strategies to reduce stress and allow your body to heal.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t eliminate stress, but you can find strategies to better manage it and reduce its impact on your spine and overall health. Chiropractic care provides an excellent complementary approach to working with your healthcare practitioner and incorporating the right stress-management strategies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chronic Stress and Your Adrenals Once upon a time, a saber-tooth tiger might have wanted you for lunch. While that\u2019s unlikely to happen today, other stressful episodes\u2013like someone swerving into your lane on the freeway\u2013can quickly put your body into fight-or-flight mode, gearing up for a possible attack. Your body responds identically whether you experience…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":251,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Impacts of Chronic Stress<\/h2>\n
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Chronic Stress and Your Spine<\/h2>\n
Stress and Interference in Your Spine<\/h2>\n
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Reduce Stress Through Chiropractic Care<\/h1>\n