As a patient’s health span is emphasized over life span, stress management is taking center stage in the wellness routines of many.

The state of chronic stress under which many of us live, not only negatively affects the body’s immune response and make us more vulnerable to virus and disease, it elevates the heart rate and blood pressure, disregulates the production of stress hormones like insulin, adrenaline and cortisol, damages the memory center of the brain and can even result in physical pain, likely due to tense and knotted muscles.

While these responses are involuntary and designed to heighten your senses and prepare the body to face a threat (real or perceived) they are intended to return to normal once the threat passes.

However, if you’re constantly under stress, your muscles can remain constricted, causing headaches, back and shoulder pain, jaw pain (from clenching or grinding) and muscles spasms that cause discomfort and affect range of motion.

It’s more important than ever to practice good self care when you’re under a lot of stress, particularly when it’s manifesting in physical pain. Changing up your morning routine to focus on gratitude and meditation can help, as can many chiropractic therapies. Manual spinal adjustments, acupuncture, massage therapy and NET (Neuroemotional Technique) are proven to successfully address real physical pain caused by stress.

Chiropractic Care

Muscles tensed frequently over an extended period of time become knotted, not only causing pain and muscle spasms, but impairing nerve communication and affecting mobility.  The restricted movement caused by tensed muscles over time can lead to vertebral subluxation, a misalignment of the bones that protect the spinal cord.

Chiropractic adjustments restore the spine to proper alignment, allowing nerve communication to flow more freely, reducing pressure on nerves, and encouraging muscles to relax.

Acupuncture

Just as the ancient healing art of acupuncture can relieve pain, tension and stiffness associated with physical exertion or sitting at a desk all day, it can also offer relief from stress-related muscle pain.

The painless insertion of tiny needles into pressure points associated with discomfort start the flow of endorphins and the rush of oxygen to muscle tissues and fibers. This alleviates pain, reduces inflammation and eases muscle tension.

Massage

Research shows massage to be very effective at decreasing pain, and relieving tension and anxiety.  The improved blood circulation stimulated by manual muscle therapy can also assist in lymphatic detoxification.

A Swedish relaxation massage is often enough to encourage the release of tensed muscles in the neck, shoulders, and jaw area that may be contributing to headaches and other pain, however when muscle fibers are particularly bound and tensed, deep tissue work can release fascial constrictions, knotted layers of connective tissue surrounding the muscle, encouraging them to lengthen and move more freely.

Neuroemotional Technique (NET)

We’ve long known that many physical ailments have an associated stress component, intricately linking emotional health with physical health.  The success we regularly see with the NeuroEmotional Technique (NET) proves just how intricately linked they really are.

NET involves a manual muscle test as a tool to cross-check emotional triggers against specific neurological points along the body’s meridians that are associated with emotional and stress responses. The test is not for muscle strength. It doesn’t involve a forcible pressure, but rather a light touch by a skilled practitioner trained to detect the physiology of the body in an energetic sense — a slight faltering, or incongruence, at polarity points that hints at stored stress.

Once the stored patterns interrupting the body’s ability to heal itself are revealed, we are able to address them directly through pulse or spinal correction, and restore health.

Chiropractic care, acupuncture, massage therapy, and NET often produce both immediate results and lasting relief with continued care.  All of these modalities contribute to overall health and wellness, and they offer mood-boosting benefits as well. Contact us about which method of relief is best suited for your stress-related pain.