In today’s world, stress is an inevitable and often major part of daily life. For many, it arrives in the form of long work hours, round-the-clock parental responsibilities, financial worries, health concerns, global news, or all the above.
When excessive stress is the norm — especially when it’s unacknowledged or rarely eased — it can become overwhelming, triggering a cascade of adverse health effects. In fact, ongoing exposure to negative stressors is a leading underlying factor of chronic illness and pain.
Here at The Rehab Docs in Daniel Island, South Carolina, our team of seasoned chiropractic and physical therapy experts know that it’s impossible to maintain good physical health and optimal mental well-being without attentive stress management.
Read on as Kevin Bein, DC and Sam Sheppard, PT, DPT, TPI discuss the negative health consequences of unmitigated stress, and explore how regular chiropractic care can help you ease those effects, de-stress, and protect your long-term health.
When you think about stress, chances are your mind jumps to situations or circumstances that make you feel anxious, upset, afraid, or overwhelmed. But stress comes in many forms, some of which you may not even register as stress. Stressor types include:
For many people, psychological stressors like work, home, family, health, and financial issues are the most consistent and impactful life stressors.
Most people deal with multiple physical stressors on a routine basis. These can include poor posture, improper biomechanics, lack of restorative sleep, lack of exercise, and acute injury.
Any unhealthy substance that must be processed by your body, ranging from environmental pollutants, drugs, and alcohol to sugar and processed foods, is called a chemical stressor.
When stress is excessive, persistent, or both, it can have wide-ranging harmful effects on your physical and mental health. As these effects accumulate, you may start to experience stress-related symptoms like:
Chronic stress is a frequent underlying factor in depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders; it’s also a common contributing cause of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
It’s easy to see why finding healthy ways to cope with life’s stressors is vitally important. Knowing where to start may not always be as obvious, but that’s where chiropractic care can help.
Chronic stress is one of the most common underlying causes of the spinal misalignments (subluxations) that chiropractors treat every day. Most people carry stress in the form of tension in their neck, shoulders, and back, and this tension can adversely impact the way your nervous system communicates with your body.
The overriding goal of chiropractic treatment is to address problems in your nervous system — including stress-induced tension — that erode the health and function in other areas of your body. This may be accomplished through spinal manipulation, therapeutic massage, myofascial release, or a variety of other evidence-based chiropractic techniques.
Chiropractic treatment is an all-natural, holistic approach that aims to:
The chiropractic care model also gives you the insight and tools you need to keep your stress levels under control, avoid future pain and dysfunction, and stay healthy. A comprehensive chiropractic treatment plan can help you:
In short, chiropractic treatment encourages you to play a central, active role in your own stress management and healing processes. Through the unique and effective combination of musculoskeletal realignment, nervous system regulation, targeted lifestyle modifications, and professional support, chiropractic care can help you de-stress and stay healthy for life.
If you’re ready to gain the upper hand over stress, we can help. Call 843-749-8848 to learn more about the chiropractic services at The Rehab Docs, or use our easy online booking feature to schedule a visit with Dr. Bein today.