The Stress Response

 

Our physical and mental health go hand-in-hand.  Stress is normal both mentally and physically, however how our body adapts to that stress can either cause us to grow or break down.  Chronic mental or physical stress will eventually deteriorate our health. Our body has a natural defense called The Stress Response, also known as "fight or flight."  This response is your body's way of handling an emergency situation by activating a system to keep us safe by releasing adrenaline and cortisol.  While these substances can protect out body in short-term situations, chronic cortisol production can have serious effects on both our physical and mental health.  Symptoms such as muscle aches, headaches, low energy, rapid heart rate, tight chest, dizziness, weight gain, diarrhea, trembling, dry mouth, nausea, stomach cramps, depression, anxiety, and insomnia are some of the things patients may feel with chronic stress.  This is when your stress response is working against you because our body has it turned on when it doesn't need to.  Chronic conditions can also be intensified by the stress response activating too often or for too long.  

Things to try to deactivate your body's stress response include: mediation, exercise, eating a healthy diet, turn off your electronics an hour before bed, make time for hobbies, practice assertion rather than aggression, seek counseling, and of course chiropractic care.  A 2017 study evaluated the effects of a chiropractic adjustment using the PET scan technology on 21 different subjects. The PET scan determined that brain function increased and stress levels decreased in every single subject. Measurements also recorded the occurrence of multiple changes in brain activity. Movement, posture, emotions, learning, and memory centers of the brain all improved after a chiropractic adjustment. Brain processing experienced a reduction in fight or flight activity and led to relaxation in the brain and reduced tension in muscles. Measurements also showed a decreased level of stress induced chemicals in the saliva.  Chiropractic care plays a vital role in your overall health and your bodies ability to adapt to the stress response.  

Yours in health,

Dr. Nicholas J. Knutson, DC

Owner/Doctor

MOUNTAIN ISLAND CHIROPRACTIC

10917 Black Dog Ln., Suite 101 

Charlotte, NC 28214

Tel (704) 394-8556

Fax (704) 395-8556

mtnislandchiro.com



Inami, T. Ogura, S. Watanuki, M.M. Masud, K. Shibuya, M. Miyake, R. Matsuda, K. Hiraoka, M. Itoh, A.W. Fuhr, K. Yanai, M. Tashiro. “Glucose Metabolic Changes in the Brain and Muscles of Patients with Nonspecific Neck Pain Treated by Spinal Manipulation Therapy: A [18F]FDG PET Study.”Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine – January 2017

Hughes, F. P (2020). Reduction of Cortisol Levels and Perceived Anxiety in a Patient Undergoing Chiropractic Management for Neck pain and Headache: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. Journal of Contemporary Chiropractic, 3, 14-20.