Written By: Matt Bradford

Understanding the benefits of chiropractic care.

Stress is a natural response to the demands of work, school, family life, and social commitments. It's our body's deeply-coded “fight or flight response” to tough situations, and it serves a very useful role in preparing our body to tackle immediate threats and challenges (whether or not they're real or perceived). Heart rates increase, blood volume and pressure increases, our senses become sharper, and our systems are imbued with helpful corticoids (e.g. adrenaline, epinephrine, and norepinephrine).

In short bursts, these reactions to stress are indeed normal and helpful. When stress is prolonged, however, the long-term effects of these reactions can lead to negative effects such as high blood pressure, muscle tissue damage, a weakening of the immune systems, and other potentially serious health concerns.

“Modern healthcare is increasingly recognizing that many illnesses are caused by stress, or worsened by stress,” agrees Dr. Milenov with Uxbridge's Axis Chiropractic, suggesting, “Generally speaking, we move less, sit more, and have busier lives, factors which increase the physical and psychological toll on the body. Taken together, these assaults on our senses create a physical and emotional reaction.”

Sure enough, these are stressful times. That's why relaxation techniques like meditation and hypnosis are often recommended as ways to mitigate that stress on an ongoing basis, and why solutions such as chiropractic care are touted by healthcare professionals like Dr. Milenov as a means to – quite literally – set the body straight.

“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,” he explains.

For example, 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 to structural misalignment spine, improper joint motion and restricted movement. In combination with another side effect of prolonged stress, nerve irritation, and it's easy to see how the mind-body connection can work against us.

Nevertheless, Dr. Milenov says these stress outcomes can be reversed through chiropractic adjustments that release muscle tension, thereby helping the body return to a more balanced and relaxed state. Along with improving circulation and reducing spinal nerve irritation, these adjustments go a long way towards convincing the brain to shut down the “fight or flight” response, allowing the body to let go of its anxious state.

“Chiropractic is based on the concept that given the opportunity, the mind and body can heal itself. And while it is virtually impossible to eliminate stress from our lives, chiropractic treatment helps you develop healthy responses to stress, reducing potential physical damage to the body,” says Dr. Milenov.