Stress

Stress is the rate of wear and tear on the body as a result of anxiety, worry or exhaustion from a difficult or challenging situation. If the source of the stress isn't found and corrected, it may irritate or damage a person's nervous system, which leads to a wide variety of health problems.

How many people actually understand the origins of stress? And, how many actually understand its influence on their daily lives? Very few people actually understand the destruction that is taking place, not only in their lives, but also to their body.
Dr. Mason in his book The Guide to Stress Reduction states, “Stress is directly or indirectly related to 80-90% of all diseases.” High blood pressure affects at least 15% of the adult population in the U.S. and results in 6,000 deaths per year. It is rarely caused by any single condition, but can be related to emotional and physical factors, such as stress. Hans Selye, leading researcher of the effects of stress upon the body, documented the three stages a person goes through in response to stress:

1. Alarm -- where the body's fight or flight mechanisms are activated;
2. Resistance -- where the body adapts to stress or successfully fights it, returning the body to normal;

3. Exhaustion -- due to prolonged stress, low resistance or malfunction.
These cause the body to secrete adrenal hormones, causing the body to lose its ability to digest. Circulation to the heart is decreased, the body's immune defenses are reduced, and the amount of oxygen carried to cells is limited. The body begins showing signs of dysfunction and is more susceptible to infections and disease, which causes wear and tear on the body. Many people aren't aware of stress until they are confronted with the pains of the symptoms: headaches, fatigue, pain and tension in the neck, shoulders and low back, irritability, allergies, sinus, digestive and sleeping problems.

According to the National Sleep Foundation's 2000 Omnibus "Sleep in America" poll, 67% of adults get fewer than the recommended eight hours of sleep a night; 43% report the lack of sleep interferes with daily activities.
On-the-job stress accounts for some of this worker exhaustion. According to a survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, 46% report their jobs are stressful at least some of the time. Two out of five say that they are always or often stressed by work.

Stress is a part of your life, which cannot be avoided despite the common misconception that it can. All we can do is minimize its implications by knowing how to manage the effects our jobs, money, relationships, children -- and even foods and drugs -- have on our lives. Exercise, meditation and eating properly will also help you manage and deal with stress more efficiently.

Chiropractic adjustments correct the subluxations caused by an overload of stress, which alter posture and the shape of the spine and disrupt the normal function of the body. Correcting subluxations, or misalignments, reduces tension and eliminates the source of stress not only in the spine but also throughout the body and nervous system.

Stress is a good thing and we all need it to survive, but you’re body’s inability to deal with it is what makes it bad. Regular chiropractic adjustments will allow your body to deal with every day stress more efficiently.

For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.

Preventing Sports Injuries In Kids

The role of the Chiropractor is crucial in preventing sports injuries in children. Prior to any sports involvement, the child should undergo a Pre-Participation Evaluation (PPE). The PPE consists of a routine medical history and physical examination with emphasis on a neuromusculoskeletal evaluation, all of which are helpful in determining the readiness factor of the child for the sport in question. This “Toes to Nose” examination includes a postural and chiropractic examinations. It has been my experience that discovering poor posture, muscle imbalances, and nerve interference will reduce chances for injury if corrected.

As the child begins sports participation, Dr. Lachuta can offer guidelines on exercise, conditioning and stretching techniques, nutrition and general fitness. Of course, when treatment is needed, Dr. Lachuta is fully equipped to manage non-surgical treatment of typical sports injuries. The treatment of sports injuries has been a basic approach in chiropractic since it’s beginning because your child’s nerve, muscle, bone alignment, and their performance are one in the same. Dr. Lachuta is able to recognize certain injuries because of his extensive athletic background. Dr. Lachuta will make a referral to the appropriate specialist if he is unable to help your child.

Although parents may not be able to soften the blow from an athletic injury they can minimize serious injury by taking some basic preventative measures:
1.Determine the child's physical maturation level and match the child's size with an appropriate sport. Most competitive children's sports are organized according to chronological age rather than physical skill or maturation. Slower maturing children are often at greater risk of injury because they are competing with peers who may be larger and physically more developed.

2.Have your child be examined from “Toes to Nose.” This examination is important because it will detect imbalance, poor posture and nerve interference that once corrected will reduce chance of injury and increase performance.
3.Seek professional advice. Given the fact that children will get hurt in play, it is critical that parents use good judgment in treating complaints about pain. What may act like a simple sprain may actually be a growth plate injury, which is very common in youth sports, that demands professional diagnosis on the extent of the injury and how to proceed with treatment.

4.Check to see if your child's organized athletic team has a chiropractor (skilled in the handling of sports injuries) affiliated with it. If not, ask your child’s coach how Dr. Lachuta can become your son/daughter’s team chiropractor.

For additional information, please call Northgate Chiropractic at
(206) 367-2224.