Stress Treatment in Newport Beach, CA

At Priestley Family Chiropractic, we must perform a thorough consultation and neurological exam before we can assess your stress. The consultation gives our doctors the opportunity to really listen and understand your specific problems and how they have affected your life. We can also capture critical bits of information about your condition that help us determine the cause of your stress.

The nervous system controls all of the other systems in the body. It interprets information and directs the body on how to react, whether moving a muscle or telling your body to release adrenaline and initiate your fight or flight response. We regulate emotions and behaviors by dispersing hormones such as serotonin, known as the “happy chemical.” If your nervous system is not functioning properly and sending the right signals, you may have insufficient serotonin and feel tired and depressed. Alternatively, if your body is stuck in “fight or flight” for too long, the prolonged surplus of cortisol can cause high blood pressure and keep you from sleeping. Your body has an innate intelligence to turn on or off “fight or flight”. However, if your nervous system is not functioning properly, you may find yourself stuck in this stressful state.

A subluxation, or misalignment of the spine, causes the nervous system to not function in its optimal state. When the spine is out of position, it puts dangerous stress on the spinal cord’s spinal nerves, which is your entire body’s intelligence pathway. Not only can subluxations cause sciatica and neck pain, but they can affect the proper functioning of the sinuses, thyroid, heart, lungs, digestion, bladder, etc. Subluxations affect the functioning of the entire body itself by lowering the state of your health. If pressure on a nerve comes from your neck, it will affect the functioning of the thyroid, which is a vital part of releasing the correct hormones.

Chiropractors are the only healthcare providers trained to locate and correct subluxations. Nerve studies indicate where there is nerve interference and will alert us to a subluxation that affects the functioning of your organs and glands. We also take x-rays to show us where the spine is out of position.

Lowers Blood Pressure

Almost half of the adults in America suffer from high blood pressure. When left untreated, high blood pressure can block blood flow in arteries and damage them leading to heart attacks and strokes. When the body is under stress, it releases hormones, temporarily increasing your blood pressure and narrowing blood vessels. If your body is stuck in this stressful “fight or flight” state, your blood vessels don’t have a chance to return to their normal state.

Chiropractic has been proven to help lower high blood pressure. In 2007, the Journal of Human Hypertension conducted a study to test the efficacy of adjusting the Atlas vertebra in reducing and maintaining lower blood pressure. Those who had their Atlas adjusted over just eight weeks showed a significant reduction in their blood pressure. The Atlas vertebra is the very top vertebra in the spine and protects the brain stem. This bone affects blood flow around the base of the skull, which is why it is essential to receive chiropractic care for a subluxation, or misalignment, of the Atlas. Chiropractors in Newport Beach, CA, are trained to locate and properly adjust misalignments in the Atlas vertebrae.

Promotes Better Sleep

Sleep is vital to every function in the body because it affects our physical and mental functioning and our ability to fight diseases through a strong immune system, recovery, and so much more. Stress can be detrimental to sleep quality because it decreases sleep duration, quality of sleep, and REM sleep. REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is essential for learning, memory, and emotional processing and contributes to healthy brain development. Alternatively, not getting enough sleep leads to an increase in stress as well. It can become a vicious cycle.

One of the most common side effects of chiropractic care in Newport Beach, CA, is that patients notice their sleep improves immediately. This is because chiropractors correct misalignments in the spine that causes muscle tension and interferes with the body’s ability to return to its parasympathetic system and heal. Every single adjustment also naturally lowers your body’s stress hormone – cortisol. When you have too much cortisol in your body, you can become stuck in this endless cycle of stress and insomnia. If you struggle with proper sleep, getting checked by a chiropractor in Newport Beach, CA, right away will lead to the best results.

Releases Positive Hormones

At Priestley Family Chiropractic, we work with your nervous system to ensure your body can maintain proper function and communication. By removing misalignments, or subluxations, pressure is lifted from the spinal nerves, and optimal communication can resume. During an adjustment, your body reduces the production of stress hormones and increases hormones such as oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin, nicknamed the “feel-good hormones.” These hormones promote positive, happy feelings such as pleasure, happiness, and love. In fact, most antidepressants work by increasing levels of serotonin in the brain. Thankfully, there are drug-free options like chiropractic which don’t have all of the negative side effects of antidepressants like insomnia and nausea.

Hormones are involved in multiple essential processes in the body- from digestion to regulating your mood. If you feel like your hormones are out of balance and don’t want to take harmful drugs, it’s important to get checked by a chiropractor immediately for a thorough evaluation.

Relieves Muscle Tension

Muscle tension is the body’s natural way to guard itself against injury or pain. When a sudden threat or stress presents itself, the muscles tense up and release once the stress passes. Muscle tension is a reflex reaction to stress. Therefore, if the body is under constant stress, the muscles will be in constant tension, which can cause pain and soreness. The most commonly affected areas due to stress are the neck, back, and shoulders.

Chiropractic care relieves muscle tension by properly aligning the spine and stimulating the nerves to relax the surrounding muscles. We are specially trained to locate and help with muscle tension and spasms. By releasing the stress on your body, it can begin to heal and relax.