Getting ready for holiday celebrations takes a great deal of work. Visiting family and friends, traveling, spending hours shopping, wrapping gifts, setting up lights and trees, and planning meals can make the body feel achy, tight, tired, and sore. Stress is multiplied by ten, increasing muscle tension, which can cause illness and other health problems. Chiropractic treatment alleviates symptoms, relieves stress, and allows you to enjoy the holidays. This includes body adjustments, therapeutic massage, health coaching, nutrition guidance, strengthening exercises, stretch training, and everything to maintain full-body health and prevent illness and injury so individuals can feel and function at their best.
Table of Contents
Aches and Pains
Shopping at stores and malls can cause the body to experience adverse physical effects. Spending hours walking and standing can trigger neck, shoulder, back, leg, and foot pain. Spending hours hunched over a computer, laptop, tablet, or phone while online shopping can also cause neck, back, and shoulder pain. Soreness and pain can result from the spine and the rest of the body becoming misaligned.
Muscle tightening is a common sign of stress. When the mind and body become overwhelmed or anxious, the neck, shoulders, or upper back muscles can tense up. Muscle tension can limit the body’s range of motion and trigger headaches. Therapeutic massage, mobilization, soft tissue therapy, ultrasound, and other chiropractic treatments can relieve stress. Massaging the body also triggers the release of endorphins that help the body calm down and relax. The adjustments and massage also increase/improve blood flow, support healing, and reduce anxiety when stress begins to build.
Stomach Issues
Following the usual diet during the holiday season can be challenging. Work parties, restaurant parties, and family meals offer an array of holiday foods and treats. The body is not used to eating a lot of rich, fatty, sugary, or fried foods and can experience bloating, constipation, gas, and other uncomfortable symptoms. These issues can be traced to the nerves that control the organs. Chiropractic can balance the nerves to help avoid uncomfortable digestive problems and help the body handle the rich diet better.
Maintaining Health and Stress Relief
Aches and pains are not the only effects of stress, body misalignment, and tight joints and/or muscles. If these structures press against the nerves and/or organs, they can affect immune system function. Chiropractic ensures that the organs communicate correctly through the nerves, balances the body, reduces inflammation, and improves lymph fluid drainage. The fluid removes toxins and wastes from the body, making fighting colds and other illnesses easier.
Body Composition
White Coat Syndrome
White Coat Syndrome is the term used for any changes in blood pressure that individuals experience in response to being in a medical office or clinic. Three distinct diagnoses are based on how an individual’s blood pressure responds to being in the presence of a healthcare professional:
White Coat hypertension
- This is when an individual not taking medication for high blood pressure presents with it in a medical office and returns to normal once they leave the facility.
White Coat effect
- This is when an individual takes medication for high blood pressure and shows a high blood pressure reading in a medical office, indicating the medication is not working.
Masked Hypertension
- This is when an individual has normal blood pressure in a medical office but high blood pressure elsewhere.
References
Ahmad, Asma Hayati, and Rahimah Zakaria. “Pain in Times of Stress.” The Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: MJMS vol. 22, Spec Issue (2015): 52-61.
PBS NewsHour. (December 2018) “Poll: How stressed are Americans this holiday season?” www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/poll-how-stressed-are-americans-this-holiday-season
Pioli, Mariana R et al. “White coat syndrome and its variations: differences and clinical impact.” Integrated blood pressure control vol. 11 73-79. 8 Nov. 2018, doi:10.2147/IBPC.S152761
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). (2019) “Holiday Safety Information Center” www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/holiday-safety
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