February 7, 2010 Do not be too Sympathetic…!
Do not be too sympathetic…!
There is a lot of research coming out every week. I read once that there are approximately 25,000 research articles published per week. While I do not claim to read all of them, I do read my fair share of chiropractic and wellness related articles. This week I am blown away with some of the research articles concerning the sympathetic nervous system. A Lion Chowing On Your Leg: At times of stress, the sympathetic nervous system kicks in high gear to regulate your body. It sends energy and attention to the parts you need most to fight or run away from danger. Without it, you would just sit there while the lion is chewing on your leg.
At Times Of Stress,the nervous system stops the blood from going to your skin so you don’t bleed to death if scratched. It decreases blood flow to your digestive and reproductive organs because you do not need them right now. It decreases your brain capacity for learning, logic and higher mental skills because it does not take a rocket scientist to run from the lion.runner Then it sends the blood and energy to raise the blood pressure, raise the heart rate and increases blood flow to the muscles of the legs and arm. It puts lots of fuel in the blood, like sugars and fats so you can use them to fight or run.
A Boss Chowing On Your Leg:
In the lion scenario, you are either eaten or saved by climbing a tree. The whole ordeal would last 20 minutes. (Maybe! I will time it the next time it happens to me)
Modern day stressors don’t disappear as quick. The research keeps finding out that sustained sympathetic nervous system activation leads to all kinds of problems.
- Heart Failure and death
- High blood pressure
- Skin problems
- Weight gain
- Sexual dysfunction
- High Cholesterol
- Contributes and worsens diabetes
- Depressed Immune system
- Cancer
- ADHD
- Depression and Anxiety
- Heart burn, constipation and digestive problems (just to name a few)
Decreasing Sympathetic Output:
Chiropractic care has been shown over and over again to reduce the overactive sympathetic output. The sympathetic part of your nervous system lives in the thoracic spine (the mid back). Any nerve irritation to the delicate 12 pairs of nerves in the mid back would cause problems with the out put of the sympathetic system. The upper back has the sympathetic nerves to the brain, eyes, arteries to the brain, heart, lung, and the mucus membranes in your lungs and sinuses. The mid back has direct connections to your adrenal glands to stimulate the stress response further by secreting more adrenal stress hormones. The mid back sympathetic nerves also have a direct effect on the function of the immune system and white blood cells. Long term overactive sympathetic nerves depress the function of the immune system and depress the ability of white blood cells to fight infections.The research is showing that chiropractic care through the regulation of the sympathetic nervous system is able to lower blood pressure, boost immune system, help with constipation, colic, ear infections, heart burn and even has a potential of improving sexual dysfunction. More interestingly, the patients treated in the research articles were not experiencing neck nor back pain. They had problems without even noticing it. You can only imagine the amount of sympathetic dysfunction present in those who are suffering with pain. (I posted links and reviews of some of the research article concerning sympathetic tone and immune system, heart failure and organ malfunction.)
The articles are archived on my website here.
I Don’t Live In A Bubble And Neither Do You:
We are all exposed to things that aggravate our sympathetic nervous system. What I know for a fact, is that neither you nor your children and spouse can have true health without a proper functioning sympathetic nervous system. Your organs, your immune system, your brain, your digestive system all need the nervous system. We recommend that everyone gets checked by a chiropractor once every 2 to 3 weeks. The longest, once a month.
Our wellness program has many modalities/therapies designed to combat sustained sympathetic tone from its any causes, chemical, emotional and physical. If you have not seen the flier, please do so by clicking here.
Make this your healthiest year ever. Your health now is a reflection of how you lived the last five years. Join our program, get adjusted, exercise, eat well and take charge of your health.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tarek Elganainy & Dr. Rhonda Sykes
Chiropractic & Family Wellness, PC
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- Posted under Chiropractic, Epigenetics, Stress
