Think about you feel when you’re stressed: Are you in pain? Do your muscles tighten? Do you eat more or less? Is your stomach in knots? Are you short of breath? Are you forgetful? Sad? Though our symptoms differ, one thing remains the same: Our bodies feel the impact of stress and one way or another, our bodies will tell us they need help. Without help, the stress, not unlike black mold, will invade our systems. It is well documented that high levels of stress can contribute to heart disease, cancer, headaches, ulcers, digestive disturbances, backaches and nearly every other condition known to mankind.

Stress is a nervous system reaction that causes your heart to beat faster, your muscles to be tense, your stomach to tighten, and your hair follicles to stand up, all as a way to prepare your body for an emergency. When you interpret a situation as stressful, whether it truly is or not, your brain triggers this reaction by sending a signal over your spinal cord and nervous system to every cell of your body.

Where your body breaks down from stress may depend on whether or not you have a condition known as vertebral subluxation. A vertebral subluxation is a spinal injury that interferes with the normal function of your nervous system which can affect your health on every level whether you have symptoms or not. If you have this in your spine, your body is already pre-stressed.

Some people deal with stress through deep breathing, meditation, exercise and healthy food choices–all very good things to do as part of your lifestyle to counter-balance stress, but if your nervous system is pre-stressed, the slightest deviation from the perfect stress management plan can send you into a frustrating, uncomfortable, or painful tailspin. Removing this pre-stress causing subluxation can improve your resistance to daily stressors dramatically.

Research shows that it only takes the weight of a dime to reduce nerve transmission. Additional research has found that nerve compression can exist without pain and can cause deterioration within two weeks.

In this pre-stressed condition, your body becomes more vulnerable to outside stresses while other people may be much more resistant. The location of the subluxation can determine what types of symptoms, if any, you experience. For example, someone with nerve interference in the upper part of the neck might feel headaches, have allergies, or a stiff neck. Because the nerves fibers that come out of the upper neck also go to the entire body, pressure here can literally cause or mimic nearly every symptom or disease you can name.

Interference to the nerve supply in the lower back can cause a backache, leg problems and also affect ovary, prostate, bladder or bowel function. Interference to the nerves in the middle of your back can affect your heart and lungs or cause tension, stomach problems, digestive disturbances and discomfort.

“I have adjusted patients who have come in for lower-back pain, but then reported to me that they were able to sleep better…or no longer felt numbness in their fingers…or in a recent case, my female patient reported that her menstrual cycle seemed to be ‘kick-started’ after being adjusted,” reports Dr. Jeff Manning, DC, of the Manning Wellness Clinic in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Manning adds, “Although that patient was shocked, I wasn’t; I know that removing interference within the body can have incredible, widespread results in fertility and health overall.”

The scary part is that like most serious conditions, vertebral subluxations can cause stress for decades without any symptoms. This is when serious problems occur, many of which could have been avoided by eliminating this pre-stressed condition right away. The birth process, childhood falls, sports injuries and poor lifestyle habits are just a few causes of subluxations. Rather than getting to the cause and removing this underlying problem, many people attempt to chase their symptoms away with drugs, or another type of quick fix, and then wonder why their condition returns. Removing the cause and optimizing the function of your nervous system is a better immediate and long-term plan.

Regardless or your symptoms, a chiropractic examination can locate pre-stressed areas in your spine that may be affecting your health on every level.

Crisis care–only receiving care when you are hurt–is one way to deal with stress, but a much better option is to remove the subluxation and stress from your body and keep it as a part of your lifestyle. This will help you to reduce stress, increase activity and happiness, live more, and enjoy the quality of life you deserve.

(Excerpts from TFP, Inc and www.100yearlifestyle.com.)