Have you ever wondered how stress can affect your health to the point of illness? To better understand this you must learn where stress can come from and its impact on your body. You may be subjected to stress in 3 different forms; physical, emotional & chemical (poor diet, cigarette smoke, etc). Not all stress is negative however, prolonged subjection to the same stress can be harmful. Our bodies will adapt & compensate to deal with these stresses but it has its limitations.
When your body encounters a stress it goes thru two processes: a local & a general adaptation. A local adaptation involves the local tissues reacting where the spine develops misalignments which leads to irritating nerves & compromising the function of the structures that specifically deal with your immune system (adrenal glands, spleen, and lymph node).
In a general adaptation (Figure 1); substances such as adrenaline & cortisol (pain/inflammation reducing chemicals) increases. Also white blood cells are released
into the body. Then the immune system perks up as long as the body can adapt or tolerate the stresses (dependent on factors such as: age, general health, genetics & other health conditions).
Over time the body finally gets exhausted trying to keep up with the stresses, developing diseases such as shingles, hypertension, gastro-intestinal disorders or autoimmune disorders.
So, what can you do? Well the first thing to do is to identify your main sources of stress (Figure 2: “Stress Quiz”) & modify your lifestyle to limit your body from them. The second
task is to have those misalignments removed by a chiropractor from your spine which restores proper function to your spine and removes irritations from affected nerves, improving the mind/body communications; & your immune system working at an optimal level.
- Dr. Andrew Erjavec
if you are like to learn more about how a chiropractor can help boost your immune system please contact Benefit Chiropractic & Wellness Clinic at 604-534-7451.
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