In this day and age just about everyone suffers from stress from time to time. For many, it is a result of day to day pressure from work, home, finances and family life. Others suffer from clinical anxiety, posing a constant challenge to manage the body’s natural fight or flight response. When stress begins to take a toll on your physical health, it’s time to take note. High stress levels can lead to increased heart rate, poor immune health and even digestive distress – so it’s important to take it seriously and get treatment as soon as possible to keep it under control.
How are Stress and Anxiety treated?
Talk therapy, behaviour therapy and even medications can go a long way to help battle stress and anxiety, but so too can treating the body’s response to stress. In our practice, we often combine the complementary treatments of chiropractics and massage therapy, with excellent results.
Stress doesn’t just live in your brain – it affects your whole body and triggers responses that make you feel physically ill.
Symptoms of stress include:
- Lack of sleep
- Low mood
- Headaches
- Body aches
- Muscle tension
- Inability to focus
How can your Registered Massage Therapist help?
When we are feeling stressed or anxious, we tend to hold that tension in our bodies. Massage therapy can help to promote relaxation, ease stiff and sore muscles and even help with stress related headaches. Massage has been proven to lower heart rate, which can be elevated during prolonged periods of stress, and it also encourages the body to release endorphins which are a natural mood enhancer.
Setting aside time in your busy schedule for massage therapy allows you to focus on nothing but your own well-being. Stepping away from your stressors and taking some “me” time can really help to reduce the symptoms of stress.
If you’re prone to chronic stress or anxiety, consider setting up a regular massage therapy session that you can count on each week for both relief and relaxation. Having consistent self-care can help to reduce your overall stress level, and your body’s response to it as well.
How can your Chiropractor help?
You may wonder how your chiropractor can help with anxiety and stress. The truth is, the spine is the delivery method for your entire neurological system. Everything that happens in your brain is conveyed through your body. In this way, symptoms of stress, such as muscle tension and feelings of malaise, can be improved through spinal adjustments. Chiropractic treatment can address many of the body’s responses to stress, including:
- Headaches
- Lack of sleep
- Poor posture
- Irritability
- High blood pressure
Chiropractic treatment improves overall health, helps to reduce physical pain, increases range of motion and leads to improved mental focus as well.
Why combine chiropractic care and massage therapy?
The answer is simple. Combining these two practices helps to provide multi-faceted treatment to the entire body. Using a holistic approach to address your physiological and neurological symptoms can lead to significant improvements in your stress level and your body’s response to anxiety. With continued therapy, patients often find that their stress is much more tolerable and that they feel much healthier overall.
If you are suffering from pain and anxiety, reach out to Kamloops Integrated Wellness for a consultation today. Our chiropractors and massage therapists would be happy to meet with you to discuss a treatment plan that works with your schedule and addresses your needs. We can help you to prioritize your mental and physical health – and feel like yourself again!
