Chiropractic care is acclaimed for its effective relief of musculoskeletal pain and stiffness. Because the brain and body are so integrally connected, there can be significant chiropractic benefits for anxiety and the many physiological symptoms it triggers. Holistic chiropractors uncover underlying tensions and imbalances within the body and combine specialized stress reduction techniques and alternative therapy to restore comfort, mobility, health and happiness.
How Do Stress and Anxiety Affect the Mind and Body?
The physiological and psychological effects of chronic stress and anxiety go hand in hand. When your body feels discomfort and isn’t working like it should, your mental health and sharpness often suffer, too. When you’re anxious from chronic stress or depression, your posture may worsen and trigger musculoskeletal pain.
Stress and anxiety are mental and physical reactions to various emotional triggers in your life. While they may both cause you tension and concern, they’re two different responses that influence each other.
Stress’s Impact on the Body
Stress is a direct response to a trigger in your environment, like waiting for test results or speaking in front of a crowd. Also known as the fight, flight, freeze or fawn response, stress activates your autonomic nervous system, releasing adrenalin, raising your heart rate, quickening breathing and tensing muscles. Our distant ancestors developed this response as a useful survival tool so they’d be alert and ready to confront danger.
The perceived threats of modern living are more complex and abundant than roaming tigers and thunderstorms, so our brains may overreact and kick us into fight or flight mode more often than is necessary or healthy.
Anxiety’s Impact on the Body
Anxiety is similar to stress in that it also engages the autonomic nervous system, preparing the mind and body for danger. However, anxiety doesn’t need an external trigger. Many people with anxiety can’t explain why they’ve been feeling so agitated for so long. Anxiety can make it difficult to enjoy free time, perform well at work, maintain healthy relationships and try new things. It can also cause several debilitating physical and emotional challenges.
If your anxiety doesn’t go away or worsens over time, it may mean you have an anxiety disorder. Studies by the National Institute of Mental Health reveal that nearly one-third of United States adolescents and adults develop an anxiety disorder in their lifetime. Untreated chronic stress, genetics, environmental factors and other illnesses could all cause anxiety disorders, although research is still ongoing.
How Can a Chiropractor Help With Stress and Anxiety Symptoms?
Working with a chiropractor for stress and anxiety relief can produce life-changing results. Holistic chiropractors combine several effective techniques and design a comprehensive wellness solution specifically designed for you. Chiropractic treatment is not a superficial bandage like pain medication — it works alongside you over time to address the fundamental underlying causes. Your chiropractor can help you:
1. Treat Tension Headaches, Teeth Grinding and TMJ
Anxiety and stress can cause the chewing muscles in your face, head and neck to tense. This often leads to unconscious teeth grinding and jaw clenching, triggering effects like facial pain, tension headaches and dental problems. This is especially true for those with temporomandibular joint and muscle (TMJ) disorders.
A chiropractor may recommend various soft tissue therapies as part of a customized treatment plan to help soothe spasms and strains in the neck, face and head.
2. Relieve Musculoskeletal Pain and Improve Posture
Life takes a toll on your spine, whether you spend your days lifting little ones, carrying bags, sitting behind a computer for long periods or walking in high heels. These pressures can pull joints out of alignment, causing posture changes that can trigger painful muscle spasms or pinched nerves. These symptoms can lead to chronic pain, which can worsen or even cause anxiety.
Chiropractors can help provide stress relief via:
- Postural assessment and correction: You’ll learn optimal standing, sitting and sleeping postures that encourage blood flow, prevent muscle tension and keep your joints well-aligned to reduce discomfort and anxiety.
- General adjustments: Targeted manipulations throughout the body alleviate tension, improve range of motion and support overall nervous system function. This may help ease physical discomfort and lessen stress-related symptoms.
3. Boost Sleep Quality and Lessen Fatigue
Sleep and anxiety influence one another. You need enough high-quality restorative sleep to maintain good mental health and energy, while stress and anxiety can make it harder to fall and stay asleep. Physical discomfort and nervous system dysregulation can also keep you up at night, so a holistic approach to sleep hygiene is crucial.
Chiropractic interventions break the cycle of anxiety and sleep disturbances using a combination of mental and physical interventions:
- Subluxation corrections: Studies show that professional joint alignment can improve flexibility, brain adaptability, circulation, joint lubrication and body awareness so that you can sleep better without your body hurting.
- Therapeutic exercise recommendations: Chiropractors can design customized stretching and exercise programs that help calm your thoughts and relieve muscle and joint pain for a better night’s rest.
- Lifestyle guidance: You’ll learn which habits boost your sleep quality, like limiting alcohol, caffeine, screen time, naps and big meals closer to bedtime and only using your bed for rest, not for work.
4. Encourage Better Gut Health and Digestion
Your digestive system and your brain share a close connection via the nervous system and the bloodstream. One’s health affects the other. For example, good gut bacteria can promote oxytocin and serotonin, two feel-good hormones that help calm an anxious mind. Your microbiome also stimulates immune cells in the gut, which communicate with the brain and contribute to emotional regulation and overall mental fortitude.
Correcting misalignments or subluxations can enhance gut function by relieving vagal nerve pressure, supporting the digestive system and addressing issues like bloating and irritable bowel syndrome. Chiropractors can also provide gut-healthy dietary advice, helping you reduce inflammation, promote feel-good hormones and alleviate anxiety-related worries.
5. Provide Cognitive and Emotional Support
Physical interventions like chiropractic adjustments, nutritional counseling, exercise, stretching routines and soft tissue therapy all work together to support a healthy body and mind. Holistic chiropractors can also help you conquer more ethereal aspects of anxiety and chronic stress like fear, pessimism and discontent.
Many chiropractors leverage natural remedies for anxiety, such as mind-body techniques that aid in processing, coping with and reframing your agitating thoughts.
What Is Holistic Anxiety Management?
A holistic chiropractor approaches health and wellness by considering the whole person rather than just treating one individual symptom or condition at a time. Holistic anxiety management practitioners like chiropractors see the body and mind as profoundly interconnected and treat patients by investigating and supporting overall well-being through science-backed techniques and alternative therapy.
Should You Seek Chiropractic Treatment for Stress and Anxiety?
If you’re experiencing symptoms of anxiety or have a sore, stiff body, start your holistic wellness journey and consult a holistic chiropractor. Events like moving, starting a new job, facing financial challenges and going through relationship changes are ideal opportunities for treating and preventing chronic stress.
Find Your Peace With Thrive Chiropractic Group
At Thrive Chiropractic Group, we help our patients find serenity and balance through personalized, whole-body chiropractic care. Our holistic approach will assess your unique physiological and psychological challenges and craft a bespoke treatment plan tailored to your lifestyle and needs. For full-spectrum stress relief, contact us online today and make an appointment at one of our three Oklahoma locations. You deserve to live your best life, free from mental and bodily pain.