ADVERTISING: Advertorial — DR. WAYNE M. FICHTER: Dealing with stress or anxiety?
We all realize chiropractic care is an effective treatment for neck and low back pain as well as acute care to relieve injuries after an accident or trauma. Point blank, chiropractic care helps relieve daily aches and pains.
As we know, not all pain has to be physical in nature. Depression and anxiety affect millions of people each year. Some patients require prescription drugs to treat their health issues. Others have found they may be able to control their symptoms with holistic approaches. Chiropractic is an effective treatment for stress and anxiety.
Stress, even though you might not realize it, may be affecting your health. You might think an illness is to blame for your headaches or your insomnia. But stress may actually be the culprit.
There are three main categories of stress: physical, environmental and emotional.
Physical stress: Includes lifting, slip or fall, car accident, etc.
Environmental stress: pollution, smoke, foods we eat, artificial sweeteners, etc.
Emotional stress: moving, starting a new job, divorce, family issues, health issues, etc.
Stress can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings, and your behavior. You have to be able to recognize common symptoms of stress, so it can help you manage them properly. If stress is left unchecked, it can contribute to a whole set of health problems, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity and diabetes.
Common effects of
stress on your body
• Headache
• Muscle tension or pain
• Chest pain
• Fatigue
• Stomach upset
• Sleep problems
Common effects of
stress on your mood
• Anxiety
• Lack of motivation or focus
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Irritability or anger
• Sadness or depression
Common effects of
stress on your behavior
• Overeating or undereating
• Angry outbursts
• Drug or alcohol abuse
• Tobacco use
We respond to stress in a variety of ways. It could be positive or negative, physical or emotional.
Your body’s normal response to stress is the fight or flight response. This causes your heart rate and breathing to increase and your senses become more acute to be prepared to run or fight. But once the stressor is no longer relevant, your vitals should return to normal. Sometimes the nervous system fails to tell your body that it’s time to return to its normal state. This is when it becomes a vicious cycle. Chronic stress, more often than not, results in pain, which in turn causes more stress.
Regular chiropractic adjustments help to decrease pain and relax muscles. When you decrease pain, you improve your quality of life, which in turn reduces anxiety and stress.
The same nervous system that is responsible for your body’s response to stress can also benefit from chiropractic care. Chiropractors work directly with your nervous system. By making specific chiropractic adjustments, they reduce interference to the nervous system. When your nervous system is functioning at a higher level, it can better handle stress and properly regulate the effects of stress. Your nervous system’s job is to regulate the body, meaning a healthy nervous system can help improve and maintain overall health and wellness.
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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.