Stress is a common part of life, and many people in American society suffer from chronic stress every day. Stress may be common, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing, and that we should continue to ignore it. Chronic stress can be a contributing factor to many major diseases and health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and depression. So how does stress affect the nervous system and can regular chiropractic treatments help treat or avoid these effects?
Stress and the Nervous System
The autonomic portion of your nervous system is continually operating, and controls all of the automatic functions of the body. It is comprised of the enteric nervous system, the parasympathetic nervous system, and the sympathetic nervous system. You may be familiar with the term “fight or flight” – that’s the main component of your sympathetic nervous system. This system draws the body’s functions away from things such as digestion and rest for protective purposes. The parasympathetic nervous system governs resting and repairing functions of the body including things such as food digestion and elimination, salivation, and tears.
When you suffer from chronic low-grade stress, the sympathetic nervous system remains active at a steady rate that is higher than normal, but not so high where your system considers your life to be in danger at that moment. Causes of low-grade stress can include working long hours over an extended period of time, life and family demands, bad posture, poor sleep habits, dehydration, poor diet, and more.
How Chiropractic Care can Help
Chiropractic adjustments can have a positive impact on how the nervous system communicates. Different areas of the spine correlate with specific stimulation of different areas of the nervous system. For example, if a patient has a highly excitable nervous system, we can focus on adjusting areas of the spine that stimulate joint motion and nervous system function in parts of the spine that contain the nerves associated with parasympathetic functioning, such as the upper neck. This is to ensure that the nervous system is functioning optimally in areas that promote rest functions. In return this would boost the nervous system’s calming elements and take pressure away from the overactive sympathetic component. If you feel like you deal with chronic stress on a regular basis, and could benefit from chiropractic care, we may be able to help. Our Duluth Chiropractor Dr. Torgrimson has over 30 years of experience treating injury related conditions. You can contact Associated Chiropractic Physicians at (218) 728-3686, we look forward to helping you!