3 Reasons Extra Adjustments Help When You’re Stressed
By Dr. Molly Casey
Stress is pressure or tension that is a result of a demanding circumstance. It can impact various systems of our bodies. It requires the affected system to work harder to perform and produce at the same level when compared to a non-stress situation.
There are different types of stress, positive and negative. Positive stress -- also known as eustress -- is the stress of planning a wedding (assuming one is happy about it) or exercising the body. The system in each of these circumstances has pressure applied and is required to work harder and the outcome is perceived as something positive or pleasant.
Negative stress is called distress and is a result of pressure or tension that leads to an unpleasant and ultimately taxing outcome. Distress can be non-stop work for extended periods of time, lack of sleep, a death in the family or other emotional traumas, excessive exercise and poor nutrition. Many Americans deal with a low-grade level of chronic distress, meaning it never really goes away. Every once in awhile, a life event occurs and that distress level rises, causing healthy behaviors to go by the wayside. In these instances, it’s more important than ever to keep your affected systems operating as optimally as possible; that’s why chiropractic adjustments are so crucial to your routine health regimen, and why additional adjustments can help even more -- because your body, your machine, needs tuned up.
Improved Communication
Your brain communicates with every single cell of your body through the path of the spinal cord and nerves, and vice versa. Proper communication is required for optimal health. The spine houses and protects the majority of this communication system. When the spine is moving properly and well, the communication system is free from interference and is able to operate at its highest level. When the spine is not moving optimally or is under undue stress, the machine can inhibit proper nervous system communication.
In a healthy body under relatively low distress, it is important to regularly assess and correct spinal health and motion through chiropractic adjustments. When a body is under larger amounts of stress, proper communication is even more important because the system is required to work harder to produce results equal to those periods of experiencing less stress. This means that any interference within the communication system can have a more significant effect on the body doing its job. When you are stressed, the chiropractic adjustment is that much more important. Give your body the ability simply to communicate as efficiently and effectively as possible during those times you want to pull your hair out; don’t skip it.
Improved Circulation and Waste Removal
Your body is constantly moving fluids whether it’s blood, fluid in the cells, or waste throughout the body. The arteries, veins, and lymphatic (waste) system run in and out of your muscles and all throughout your body. The better the communication is in your body, the better these systems will be able to function. The better joints move, the less restriction or pressure they put on muscles and the structures lying within the muscles, thereby indirectly improving circulation and waste removal.
Why should you really care about this? Consider that you run a marathon one step at a time, meaning it’s the small sequential steps, behaviors, or habits done repeatedly that will ultimately get you to the finish line. Often when we experience really stressful times in life, we can’t remove the actual tragedy or extremely long work days. However, we can take very small steps again and again to improve our body’s ability to handle the stress and perform optimally.
Continuing with chiropractic adjustments -- and even adding extra ones during this time -- can be hugely beneficial. In addition, when circulation slows down and waste piles up, it adds an entirely new stress that has nothing to do with the original stress you may be dealing with; in other words, it adds fuel to the already burning fire.
Decreased Mechanical Tension, aka Feeling Better
Chiropractic adjustments allow for optimal brain-body communication and assist in restoring joint motion. When joints move properly, the muscles that move them are often able to relax and release the physical tension they were under prior to that movement. When that tension is released, it is quite common that one feels better -- and the good news is that it often happens quite quickly.
Let’s face it, when you are under so much stress you literally feel it wearing on you -- let’s say in your neck and shoulders -- it can be a huge relief to simply have the physical ache go away. Now let me be clear: this does not solve the problem of the external stress and it is a simple symptom relief, but that can be enough to turn the dial down so you can handle the day-to-day a little bit easier and with a little clearer mind. This is important because your mental state matters, especially when trying to maneuver through hard times.
We all know that humans struggle with stress, some more than others. In order to deal with stress in our lives, we need to arm ourselves with the best possible chance to move successfully through it. Bailing on the small yet powerful actions or habits that our body benefits from is not the best course of action. When the stress hits -- and it will -- stick with your regular chiropractic adjustments and, if you can, add a couple extra in there. The doctors at The Joint Chiropractic will be thrilled to see and help you on your path and your body will be thrilled to get some relief.
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