In our last blog, we talked about what causes anxiety and how it affects the entire body. In this second part, we’re going to dive into talking about what can be done to minimize and even overcome all of the challenges that go along with anxiety, whether it’s for yourself or for your child.
At this point, you might be wondering why a chiropractor is talking about anxiety and stress and where chiropractic care could come into play. Chiropractic directly affects the root cause of these challenges, and that again is the nervous system. The brain and the spinal cord make up that central nervous system and then there are branches off of that to go everywhere in the body to communicate with every tissue, cell, and organ in the body. Again, the spine is the bony armor that protects the delicate nervous system. When we make safe, gentle chiropractic adjustments, it directly improves the function of the nervous system by allowing it to communicate freely like it was designed to do. The nervous system is also in control of those three lines of defense that we talked about in the last blog, which means that when the nervous system is in balance, it’s controlling those glands like it should. Then, the body is not stuck in that sustained fight or flight stress mode, and the adrenal glands, thyroid, and pituitary are not being overburdened. Therefore, chemically and physiologically, these glands are controlling hormones properly and efficiently and are also in a state of proper balance and ease. With every adjustment, not only is the spine in better alignment to allow the body to work better physically (which often makes you feel better), but balance between the sympathetic side and the parasympathetic side of the nervous system will be restored so that you’re not just stuck on that sympathetic fight or flight mode.
An important thing to note is that we do not treat anxiety and we do not treat stress. That’s not what we are “curing.” What I do as a chiropractor is ensure that the nervous system is in a state of ease and balance so that the stress does not get stuck on and leave you in the vicious cycle of stress. When we aren’t stuck that stress cycle, our internal environment is in a state of balance and peace. The body can only heal in that state. As we allow the nervous system to calm down, as we start to regulate stress, and as that anxiety starts to go away, our internal environment is much happier. The brain and the body can communicate better, and externally is where we see results in the form of reduction and elimination of symptoms. So really, improvement of different symptoms, whether that’s in yourself or your child, is just a side effect of chiropractic care.
We hear time and time again from our patients or their parents that while under care, they have such better body awareness. You might be surprised by that, but there are tiny receptors in the joints of the spine that detect where your body is in space. If these receptors are thrown off from misalignments of the joints of the spine and stress in the nervous system, then it will affect how those receptors are perceiving your environment. That causes your brain to become confused as to where you are in space, which causes more stress to the nervous system. If your body doesn’t know where it is in space because those receptors aren’t on high alert, then you’re going to be uncomfortable in your own body, which perpetuates this stress cycle. This is a common symptom of anxiety, especially in the pediatric population. When under chiropractic care, we see the body become more self-aware as it distresses and releases tension. It heals. And because our body isn’t having to worry about where it is in space, it is able to calm itself down. When it’s more calmed down, improved sleep happens, more energy happens, less fatigue happens, and less brain fog happens.
This is why we see improvements in so many of the challenges we previously mentioned. For adults, this includes the feeling of overwhelm, feeling restless, feeling like the brain is on high alert all the time and just won’t shut it down, lack of focus, difficulty remembering things, brain fog, a negative mindset, headaches, jaw pain, tension, and irregular menstrual cycles. In kids, these challenges typically present as avoidance of certain places or activities, stomachaches or nervous stomach, exhibiting strange coping behaviors (pulling out eyelashes, picking or biting nails, or hiding), getting nervous or extra clingy to parents in social settings, trouble making friends at school, and acting out when scared. Again, when the brain and body are able to communicate freely without interference via chiropractic care, we hear such remarkable improvements from these kiddos and their parents.
If you are one of those people who are struggling with any of these or your child exhibits some of these behaviors, I urge you to come to the office for a nervous system assessment to see if we can help you. One thing I do here at the office that is different from so many other chiropractors is that I utilize state of the art nervous system function scanning technology. Now what this allows me to do is detect where stress is stuck in the system, how much of it there is, and if chiropractic can help.
If you want to be proactive and really want to break this endless cycle of stress and anxiety that you’ve been experiencing, please don’t hesitate any longer and schedule an appointment. That can be done by calling our office at 608-497-1801 or clicking the “Book an Appointment” button at the top of the page. If you let us know that you came directly from this blog post, we would be happy to give you a special promotion because you already took the time to get a better understanding of what stress and anxiety can do to your health. Your body is designed to feel good, so we would be honored to help guide you to that point!
Dr. Jill Mork is a pediatric and prenatal certified chiropractor and the owner of Family First Chiropractic of Verona. She focuses her practice on families, infants, kids, and pregnant women. She takes a special interest in children with neurodevelopmental challenges. Her mission is to empower families to take control of their health and well-being. She believes that the body was designed to heal and function properly. By approaching the body from a functional standpoint, she utilizes chiropractic care to free up the interference on the nervous system and allow the body to work like it was designed to. Her office is located in Verona, WI and she serves those in Verona and from Fitchburg, Oregon, Middleton, and the surrounding Madison area. To improve the quality of life of you and your family, contact Dr. Jill at 608-497-1801.
