How Stress Affects the Body

How Stress Affects the BodyEvery time you’re rushing to finish an assignment on deadline, you get a call from your child’s school, or you’re dealing with rush hour traffic, something in your brain triggers a release of stress hormones. While this “fight or flight” response is important for say, swerving just in the nick of time to avoid a collision, long-term stress can be detrimental to your health.
How does stress impact my health?
Having cortisol coursing through your body for a long time can put you at risk for:
  • Digestive issues
  • Headaches and migraines
  • Chronic pain
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Weight gain
  • Sexual dysfunction
  • Memory loss or difficulty concentrating
  • Hypertension
  • Insomnia and sleep problems
  • Heart disease
  • Stroke
How can an osteopath help?
When tackling stress, you may think about how a regular doctor or psychologist can help, but you may also benefit from seeing an osteopath. An osteopath is a medical doctor that focuses on treating the body and all of its systems as a whole to ensure that everything is working together. An osteopath provides hands-on manual therapy and spinal manipulation.
Why focus on the spine?
This, along with the brain, is a crucial part of the central nervous system and for those dealing with prolonged stress, a lot of muscle tension can put unnecessary pressure on the spine, which in turn can lead to pinched nerves, trigger points, and tense muscles. Through regular osteopathic adjustments, we can realign the spine as well as the muscles around the spine to improve function and reduce pain and inflammation.
An osteopath also provides massage therapy, which is incredibly therapeutic and can help promote deep relaxation while flushing toxins from the body. If you’re looking for safe, non-invasive, and gentle treatment options to help ease the physical symptoms that stress is causing, osteopathic treatment may be right for you.
Regular osteopathic care can:
  • Restore functionality and mobility
  • Reduce swelling and eliminate pain
  • Get rid of muscle tension and spasms
  • Prevent joint degeneration
  • Promote relaxation and reduce stress
  • Enhance sleep quality
If you’re having trouble getting your stress under control or experiencing tension headaches and unexplained muscle aches due to prolonged stress, know that an osteopath can help you. 

 

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