November 2008

Subluxations and stress -- the two silent killers

by Dr. Terry A. Rondberg

Recently, PBS aired a National Geographic special about the danger of too much stress and it was an eye-opener even for trained health care professionals like us. We're already aware that physical, mental and emotional stress has a direct affect on health and wellness, but science is only now exploring the true depth of the toll stress takes on our bodies.

The PBS broadcast called "Killer Stress" spotlighted many of the latest research projects that show that stress actually can shrink our brains, make us fat and even unravel our chromosomes. At one point, Stanford University neurobiologist explains that "Chronic stress could do something as unsubtle and grotesque as kill some of your brain cells."

That's not all it can do. According to the American Institute of Stress, "Contemporary stress tends to be more pervasive, persistent and insidious because it stems primarily from psychological than physical threats."

The neurophysiological responses to stress are intended to protect us, but when they are triggered too often, the benefits of stress turn into dangers.

Of all the explanations I've heard about stress, the one I like best came from an unlikely source: an episode of the old television series "West Wing." In it, the first lady (a medical doctor who would have made a great chiropractor), tells White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry: "The minute your system senses stress it releases a hormone that constricts the blood vessels, contracts the heart muscles, stimulates the adrenal gland. You stay in this state for not a hundredth of the time that you and I have existed like this and the vessels begin to shred. The heart permanently constricts. The intestines, the immune system, shut down."

In the series, McGarry has a heart attack and dies. Ironically, life imitated art not long after when the actor who played the part, John Spencer, also died of a heart attack. "Like Leo, I've always been a workaholic, too," Spencer said shortly before his death.

So, stress really does kill and when it doesn't kill, it can maim.

A study conducted by researchers from University College London and published in the European Heart Journal focused on work stress. Over a 12-year period, researchers collected data on the heart rates, blood pressure and blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol for a group of civil servants. They correlated this data with the subjects' stress level at work and found that those who reported a high degree of stress were 70% more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those who reported no stress.

Although other factors -- like nutrition, exercise, and smoking and drinking habits -- were taken into consideration, it was clear that the stress itself was directly associated with biological changes that increased the health risks.

In fact, 43% of all adults suffer adverse health effects from stress and new studies are showing that young people -- even children -- are subject to stress that can compromise their immune systems. Stress is linked to the six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. And, according to the American Psychological Association, 75-90% of all physician office visits are for stress-related ailments and complaints.

All of this is important for chiropractors to keep in mind because when we care for our patients, we need to address the effects of stress on their health as well as the two-way link between subluxations and stress.

We know, both from research and our own experience with patients, that subluxations can cause neurological changes that bring about stress and stress-related symptoms and conditions. We also know that stress can cause subluxations. What many DCs don't know is that we now have a way to monitor the neurophysiological responses in our patients and document the changes that occur as a result of chiropractic adjustments.

The World Chiropractic Alliance recently endorsed NeuroInfiniti, which (among other things) can perform the NeuroInfiniti Stress Response Evaluation and make an accurate measurement of physiological stress response. This 12-minute, completely non-invasive computerized test, can compare the neurological response and recovery to three types of stress challenges.

We now understand the devastating effects of stress on health and the neurological consequences of subluxation and we now have the assessment and neurofeedback instrumentation that permits us to provide the most meaningful care to our patients. This puts us in the perfect position to become the absolute leaders in the movement to address stress-related wellness issues.

Since the medical profession has become irrevocably linked to drugs and surgical procedures, the public needs non-medical health care practitioners willing and able to deal with these issues. Chiropractic is the ONLY field with the training and tools to fill that need. But we have to act quickly, before the MDs, osteopaths, and even PTs start moving into this territory. If they get there first, we'll be the ones to suffer from real stress!

(For more information on NeuroInfiniti, visit neuroinfiniti.com or call DeDe Van Riper at 877-233-0022.)