A big thank you to Dr. Aimee Polgar, DC, CISSN from Great Lakes Health & Wellness for her write up on how Chiropractic care can support your journey to health and wellness. Dr. Aimee has a thriving practice in Westlake, OH.
Check out her website: www.greatlakeshealthohio.com
“An Alternative Approach to Managing Stress
Low back pain, sciatica, neck pain and headaches. Yes, we do really well with these conditions, but as chiropractors, we work with so much more than just musculoskeletal pain. Chiropractic care is the art and science of adjusting misaligned joints of the body, especially of the spine, thus reducing spinal nerve stress and promoting optimal health and wellbeing. Chiropractic is a safe and natural approach to enhancing the body’s ability to function properly, helping with reduction of stress, anxiety and mood issues.
As chiropractors, our specialty is stress on the body – physical, emotional and chemical stress and how it presents itself physically, as symptoms.
Some common symptoms of stress are feeling irritable, angry, overwhelmed, anxious, fatigued and depressed. Pain is also a red flag that stress has become chronic. When under stress, different areas of the body are affected. Here's a snapshot of some of the effects:
-Musculoskeletal system: Muscles tense up and contract under stress, causing headaches, migraines and other conditions related to excessive tightness.
-Respiratory system: High stress can cause rapid breathing and can therefore trigger panic attacks.
-Cardiovascular system: Acute stress can increase heart rate and inflammation in the coronary arteries, potentially increasing risk of stroke and other cardiovascular events.
-Endocrine system: When the body is chronically stressed, the adrenal glands produce more cortisol, increasing risk of heart disease, diabetes/insulin issues and encouraging the body to store fat in the belly region.
-Nervous system: Under stress, the body will act as though it's under threat. For each stressor, the body needs to react to stay safe. This reaction is an innate response that has been occurring for millions of years. In the short term, there is nothing wrong with this nervous system reaction but when it becomes chronic stress, the body is now constantly releasing hormones that boost the ability to either "fight" or “flight” (flee). These hormones are what make us feel anxious, increase our heart rate, cause nausea, heart palpitations and more… Today, we don't experience the same hazards our ancestors encountered, but this natural response has now transformed to reactions to modern day stresses—work, deadlines, traffic, illness, arguments, etc.
Working with the nervous system is our bread and butter! The nervous system as a whole is comprised of two separate but complimentary systems: the sympathetic nervous system (aka “fight or flight” response) and the parasympathetic nervous system (aka “rest and digest” response). Chiropractic adjustments activate the parasympathetic system, which calms the "fight or flight" reaction triggered in the sympathetic system and in turn can help decrease muscular tension and inflammation, normalize respiratory rate, and balance hormonal output. Research has shown that adjustments of the upper cervical spine (neck) almost immediately decrease blood pressure readings.
We also know there is a strong correlation between pain and mood. There may be an underlying condition that is causing or exacerbating a patient’s mood disorder. Chiropractic care is an excellent alternative approach to addressing physical symptoms and a great adjunct to other therapies that help to manage one’s condition."