My Body Aches, Is It Stress?
Do you regularly experience tension in your back, neck, and shoulders that also get worse as the day goes on? Do you suffer from headaches and migraines too often? Are digestive issues such as constipation, bloating, diarrhea affecting you? Do you often feel anxious and have a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep? If you’ve answered yes to this on a regular basis, your body is telling you that you are stressed. Although stress in the body can be healthy such as physical stress from physical activity, and small amounts of stress can help with the immune system, constant stress can have detrimental effects on the body.
Stress is an inevitable part of life, whether it be physical stress, chemical stress (from food or additives), or emotional stress. When the body experiences stress it activates the “fight or flight” response releasing physiological reactions such as stress hormones of cortisol and adrenaline. The prolonged presence of stress hormones can lead to muscle tension in the neck, shoulders and back which are some of the common areas of muscle tension from stress.
Muscle tension from stress often leads to subluxation (misalignments) in the spine. These subluxations interrupt nerve functions, leading to pain and discomfort and a decrease in overall health. According to a study published in the Journal of Chiropractic Medicine, chronic stress can contribute to the development of spinal misalignments, resulting in back pain and discomfort (Gleberzon, 2007).
Chiropractic care is centered on restoring proper alignment to the spine. Through spinal adjustments, misalignments can be corrected to alleviate muscle tension, and help the body return to a state of balance. Spinal adjustments can significantly reduce pain and improve function in patients suffering from stress-induced musculoskeletal issues (Rubinstein et al., 2011).
Healthy Spine, Healthy Mind
-Dr. Tyler
Citations:
Rubinstein SM, van Middelkoop M, Assendelft WJ, de Boer MR, van Tulder MW. Spinal manipulative therapy for chronic low-back pain: an update of a Cochrane review. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2011 Jun;36(13):E825-46. doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e3182197fe1. PMID: 21593658.