Can osteopathy help relieve stress
Stress manifests itself in a variety of ways
How does Osteopathy help?
Osteopathy helps to stimulate the body ’ s natural healing system, prompting it to self-regulate and rebalance the internal functions of the body.
This is achieved by external manipulation techniques which concentrate on parts of the spine responsible for the pain and the specific areas of complaint to reduce muscle tension and soreness and to improve any related symptoms in the digestive and respiratory systems.
In conjunction with specific exercises at home, it is possible to help maintain the body ’ s balance and keep on top of stress.
How do I avoid muscle-related stress in the long-term?
Periodic osteopathic treatment can help to keep the body’s internal systems in harmony which will reduce the secondary effects of stress such as back and neck pain.
However, without long-term changes in your lifestyle, it is impossible to eliminate stress completely and you’re likely to find yourself locked in a process of treating the effects rather than the root cause of the problem.
Why is this so? It is my view that stress detonates a primeval mechanism in the human body called the fight or flight reaction. This response is inherent in all of us and allows us to mobilise energy and adrenalin at a moment’s notice to help us respond to danger or risk.
Work-place stress or indeed any kind of stress whether it is relationships or family pressures can activate this response needlessly when there is no threat to our lives. What happens next is a chemical overload in the nervous system which can constrict the blood vessels and reduce the flow of blood to the soft tissues.
The result of all of this is back and neck pain, not to mention other health problems which can threaten life including heart attack.
So long as the individual remains in a continually stressful environment, this primeval system will continue to be triggered and manifest itself in a variety of problems.
