The stressful truth about stress
Today's high stress, fast pace world is literally killing many in our community — and they don't even realize it. Individuals who are under constant stress are at increased risk for chronic health problems, including heart disease. Scientists have found increasing evidence that stress can suppress the immune system, leaving you susceptible to a variety of disorders, including arthritis, high blood pressure, infections, allergies and some kinds of cancer.
Many have poor eating and sleeping habits as they constantly rush from one thing to the next. It's no surprise that we feel overwhelmed, exhausted and just plain worn out. The most common complaints that people bring to their doctors are headache, backache, and fatigue. These and other illnesses may have a physical, chemical or mental/ emotional origin. Physical illness can be caused by accidents, strains from improper body movement and postural stress. Chemical causes of illness include nutritional and/or dietary disorders and reactions to environmental toxins. Mental and emotional illnesses are most commonly stress related, i.e. worry and anxiety about family and job responsibilities and concerns about finances and personal achievements.
Stress, in its negative sense, may be simply defined as an imbalance of bodily system(s) due to excessive stimulus. This irritating stimulus can be physical, chemical or mental. This leads to an increase in the rate of wear and tear in the body. Medical research has suggested that up to eighty percent of all illness is stress related!
It is important to remember that regardless of the origin of a disorder, its effects on the human body will manifest in the nervous system. The nervous system is the organizer and coordinator of all bodily processes. All other systems depend upon the integrity of the nervous system to function properly. This includes the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, reproductive, endocrine (hormonal), and musculoskeletal systems. Therefore, the most direct method of presenting and correcting illness is directed toward balancing the nervous system. This is precisely the pathway that chiropractic care utilize.
Chiropractic care, along with natural treatments, like whole food supplements, deep tissue massage, and exercise helps manage stress by bringing balance back to the body. When the body is under stress, the brain signals the adrenal glands to produce hormones, including cortisol and epinephrine. These hormones trigger the body's "flight or fight" response. While the 'flight or fight' response was helpful for our ancestor who faced very real physical threats on a daily basis, the stress we experience today is rarely a threat to our personal safety. Modern day stressors are not a threat to our physical survival. However, our brain still goes into survival mode, flooding our bodies with cortisol. Recent studies show that high cortisol levels are linked to an increased risk for heart disease, diabetes, weight gain, and poor sleep habits. Chiropractic care and other stress relief treatments help to reduce cortisol levels and remove toxins from the body. Proper spinal alignment is the first step for reducing stress. When the spine is misaligned, the nervous system is unable to properly send messages through the body.
Better spinal alignment means better communication and increased system efficiency.
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Dr. Wayne M. Fichter Jr. is a chiropractor at Natural Spine Solutions. The business is located at 3913 Schreiber Way in Coeur d’Alene. (208) 966-4425.