Stress is Contagious

Just like disease, health can be transmitted. What one individual does to improve or diminish their health has consequences to all other individuals. From atoms to persons, connection is a requirement for life to happen. Atoms in our physical body need constant interaction and exchange with atoms in the outside world in order to maintain life. Likewise, we cannot be our healthiest unless we relate positively interpersonally. The way we perceive stress in the external environment has a direct influence on the way we react to it. People who are exposed to stress by association with social groups that are highly stressful are more susceptible to mirroring the feeling. Likewise, having assistance while dealing with a new challenge or situation effectively can have significant influence in an individual’s health and well-being. John H. Knowles stated, “each person has an individual moral obligation to preserve one’s own health—a public duty if you will.”

The effects of stress can be emotionally and physically drastic. The following afflictions have become characteristic of our fast paced society: high blood pressure, ulcers, heart disease, cancer, arthritis, lung disease, and depression. Some of the physical effects of chronic stress can cause harmful pressure on the structure on the structure of the body, including muscle tension, contraction, and nerve irritation. This strain can lead to misalignment of the spinal column, leading to what are known as subluxations. This is a situation where your vertebrae are out of position and create pressure on the spinal nerves, which causes the nerves to interfere with the signals traveling over those nerves. This often manifests in severe neck and back pain proving a direct correlation between stress and the physical ailments one might feel.

Your chiropractor cannot change stressors from life that stimulates the pain, but they provide treatment that can help you develop healthy bodily responses to stress. The theory is that adjustments help encourage the body to heal itself. Unfortunately most people don’t seek change until the damage is already done. As a patient, your responsibility to upkeep the healthy adjustments received from your chiropractor, and incorporate more sensibility into your everyday life. Acknowledge the influences and stressors of your environment. Self-care is indispensible for staying healthy, and ironically has an effect on the people around you too. Simply by being aware of the stress around you can allow you to acknowledge its presence before you get sucked into its consequences. Bottom line: help spread the healing power of wellbeing, not the toxic infection of stress!

The Dairy Dilemma

Contrary to popular belief, aka what the Dairy Industry has engrained, cow milk is actually presumed to be a contributor of osteoporosis, not a cure.


This is a painful realization to come to grips with. Since we were children, we have been programmed to believe that we won’t achieve strong bones unless we drink our daily glass of milk. Recent studies prove the opposite. While milk may temporarily increase bone density, it erodes bone making cells in the long run, leading to osteoporosis (along with smoking, genetics, and menopause). It actually increases calcium loss from bones because of its acidifying properties.  Calcium is taken from your bones to neutralize the acid in digesting milk!

Don’t we need our calcium? Americans consume exclusively large amounts of calcium, and in turn have one of the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world. On the bright side, there are many other avenues to acquiring the proper intake of calcium that are beneficial to your bones. Green leafy vegetables, sea vegetables, nuts, legumes, and seeds allow for calcium “gain.”  Gram for gram, milk is beat out by 50 plant based calcium rich foods. 

There are also some tasty alternatives to the creamy milk that we all have grown to love. Behold nut milks! Stroll along the milk aisle of any health food store and you’ll see countless alternatives to cows milk: Almond Milk, Rice Milk, Hemp Milk, and the infamous Soy Milk. A milk alternative can also appeal to those who are concerned about weight because of the comparatively low level of fat and calories.  And for those of you who are not ready to forfeit animal milk, and are feeling adventurous, don’t hesitate to try goat’s milk, which is a staple in much of the world. It is easier to digest because of its smaller protein molecules, and has as much calcium as whole cow’s milk. Just beware, its extremely rich, and undeniably “goaty.”

So what happens if we have already developed osteoporosis? Unfortunately there is no way to cure it, but there are treatments to help you deal with the pain. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your Chiropractor, who can use gentle techniques to alleviate the associated pain.

From Carelessness to Awareness

Many of our structural issues can be improved by simply bringing awareness to negative habits. Below are 5 of the most common misalignments that are leading to improper posture, and inevitably neck and back pains. The more you start paying attention to these adjustments, the more you will realize how often you are doing them... and in turn the more opportunities to improve them!


          Shoulders

It is common to unconsciously hold tension in the shoulders. If your shoulders are up by your ears, you aren't alone. Whether you are eating, driving, or sitting at your desk, make sure that let go of the rigidity that is keeping them up. Our posture is often a reflection of how we feel, so you may first notice the tightness you are holding physically, and then see how that translates to your mental state-are you stressed, anxious, nervous? This mental state may be affecting your upper back, which can add stress to your neck, elbow, and wrists. Allow your arms to hang from your shoulder joint, shoulders back and and down. *Imagine your shoulder blades as wax melting down a candle.

Head

Even if your shoulders are relaxed down and back, there is still a common tendency to place your head forward, similarly to a turkey gobbling in the headlong position. This is putting stress on your neck, knocking it out of alignment with the rest of your spine, which inevitably will lead to a negative curvature of the spine and upper back. Computer screen and cellphones have become a magnet for our eyes, and our head follows. Simply pay attention to this tendency, put your head back, and tuck that chin. *Imagine a helium balloon is attached to the tip of your head.

Pelvis

The increasingly sedentary lifestyle of sitting for long periods of time is a culprit for what is known as Anterior Pelvic tilt. This has a tendency to shorten your hip flexors, which are attacthed to the top of the pelvis, and pulls them forward. A common complaint starts with lower back pain. Upon repositioning, the relief will come from taking a load off of overloaded muscles and compression of the spine. Take a moment and notice the position of your pelvis. Make sure that the pelvis is not tilted forward or backwards, rather remains in a neutral position. If you tuck your stomach in, your lumbar will follow and help to align the pelvis. *Imagine your hips as the headlights of a car distributing light directly forward, not up or down.

Feet

What do flowers and your feet have in common? They both benefit from being planted. Whether sitting or standing, ensure that you feel a connectivity with the ground. Gravity is on your side on this one, helping you relax and sink into the ground like a tree reaching to the sky and keeping its roots sunk. The strongest trees have the deepest roots. Simply allow the weight in your body to sink to your feet, as oppose to holding it in your lower back or legs. This will encourage your upper body to remain upright, stable and balanced.  *Imagine your feet as being a heavy bag of sand, weighted down to the ground. 

Palms

Palms? Placing your palms up is one of the most simple and effective ways to instantly improve posture. Whether you are sitting or standing, this seemingly minor adjustment will unhunch a back, and open the chest. *Imagine a tiny stream of energy connecting your open palms from the pinkies to your heart.