Stress is a dangerous thing.  While you all agree that stress isn’t optimal, most of you wouldn’t suggest it to be dangerous.  According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of dangerous is: 1 : exposing to or involving danger 2 : able or likely to inflict injury or harm.  As a chiropractor, I see injury caused by stress daily.  Headaches, neck tension, lower back discomfort, and arm pain are only a few things that we can trace back to stress when searching for their cause.  Stress has been declared a hazard of the workplace by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Why? Stress costs American industry more than $300 billion annually.  Yikes.  So what can you do to decrease the stress in your life?

One way is to try chiropractic.  Chiropractic, you ask?  But I wasn’t in an accident!  This misnomer is one reason chiropractic isn’t sought after for common stress causing ailments.  Chiropractors work primarily with the spine, the root of the nervous system through which nerve impulses travel from the brain to the rest of the body. One effect of chronic stress is prolonged muscle tension and contraction. This muscle tension creates uneven pressures on the bony structures of the body, often leading the misalignment of the spinal column, known as subluxations in the tradition of chiropractic.

Chronic stress also leads to nerve irritation. The adjustments of a chiropractor release muscle tension, and that helps the body return to a more balanced, relaxed state. Adjustments also reduce spinal nerve irritation, and improve blood circulation. These changes may be enough, in many cases, to convince the brain to turn off the fight or flight response, beginning the process of healing. A healthy and balanced spine is one key to effectively managing stress.

While chiropractic cannot make a job less stressful, or create a quieter, calmer world, a chiropractic treatment can help you develop healthy responses to stress, reducing potential physical damage.

Chiropractic is based on the concept that given the opportunity, the mind and body can heal itself. In relieving some of the effects of chronic stress, chiropractic care provides just such an opportunity.