THE AGE OF STRESS
It is said that stress is an integral part of life from which there is no escape, and complete absence from stress means
non-existence or death. Stress plays a key role in daily life, influencing - if not governing - happiness, productivity and
health.
Conservative estimates indicate that stress is the major contributing cause in 75 percent of all human illnesses. S.2
Given this astonishing fact, it has been reasoned that living with the stresses of the modern world is more hazardous to
health than smoking cigarettes, having elevated cholesterol levels, or most any other of the publicized threats to people's
health.
Modem society is characterized by an epidemic of stress-related illnesses S.2
More specifically, stress has been implicated in diseases ranging from backaches to headaches, from hypertension to chronic
degenerative diseases. It is, therefore, not surprising that the present era is thought of by many to be the "age of stress."
Your present condition is a mirror of a lifetime of injuries, stresses and indiscretions imposed upon your body day-in
and day-out. Your neck may have been twisted starting with the birth process with subsequent misalignment of your cervical
vertebrae. Accidents, over exertion, poor posture and falls are all physical stresses which may have caused the movable bones
of your spine to subluxate and put pressure on or irritate the nerves. It is this problem that produces dysfunction and causes
the pain and other symptoms to appear.
Mental stress, too, affects us physically. Mental stress can occur as a result of a shock as severe as the death of a loved
one or from as simple a thing as a faulty alarm clock making us late for work. Physical stress on the body can be caused by
anything from not getting adequate sleep to a severe whiplash injury from a car accident. In addition, there is chemical stress
which may come from environmental pollution, the side effects of medications or even the refinement process and additives
of our food supply.
Thermal stress can arise from variances in temperature throughout the seasons. So, as you see, it is unrealistic to hope
to escape the sources of stress in our daily lives.
Compounding all this is the tension cycle, in which mental stress triggers physical stress or vice versa, leading to a
downward spiral of health and happiness and an increasingly painful series of symptoms.
It is alarmingly clear that now more than ever, vast numbers of people are manifesting signs of increased vulnerability
to stress in virtually all areas of social living. There is an urgent need for intervention efforts to address the problem,
and Chiropractic is a natural for the treatment of stress and stress related conditions. Stress usually results in knotted
muscles in the neck and low back that can cause various spinal problems leaving the body susceptible to disease processes.
Chiropractic care helps to restore the integrity of the spine thereby removing pressure, irritation and stress from the
spine. Chiropractic adjustments break the tension cycle, thus helping to relieve possible serious stress-related conditions.
2. Lecker, S. "The Natural Way to Stress Control." Norton, New York, 1968.
