Archive for the ‘Back Pain’ Category

15
Apr

The Physiology Of Stress – In The Eye Of The Tiger

   Posted by: Dr. Tonia Mitchell ND Tags: , , , , ,

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This is the second of a three-article series that will cover stress in detail.  In the first article, I covered the sources and symptoms of stress.  In this article, we will cover the physiology of stress and look at why bad stress makes us sick.  In the last article, I’ll review some simple stress reduction techniques.

All of us have most likely heard about the fight or flight response.  In the face of danger, or a perceived negative stress (let’s use the classic example of a saber-toothed tiger), the chemistry changes in your body so that you can do one of two things: fight the tiger or run like stink to get away from it.  The goal of either option is the same: to survive the experience so that you can pass off your genes to your offspring.

In response to a stress (real or imagined) your nervous system reacts first.  Your brain sends a signal to a gland (like a hormone factory) called the hypothalamus.  This hormone factory sends chemical signals to different parts of your body such as the adrenal glands.  The nerve cells in the inside of the adrenal glands produce and release adrenaline and we see an increase in blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, muscle tension and metabolism.  The blood flows from your digestive organs to the major muscles in your body.  Your pupils get bigger so your vision becomes sharper.  Your hearing and concentration actually improve.  The hormone system reacts after the nervous system.  Eventually, the outer part of the adrenal glands secrete cortisol.

Cortisol has many important jobs in your body during acute stress:

  • Increases blood sugar levels in the body, providing the energy to fight or flee;
  • Acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory agent;
  • Increases blood pressure;
  • Follows a daily pattern with the highest level secreted at around 8:00 am (to help us wake up), after which there is a gradual decline throughout the day. Levels are lowest between midnight and 4:00 am (to help us sleep).

The physiology of stress prepares us to battle or bolt. Once we have evaded (or killed) the tiger, our system ideally returns to normal.  In modern society our saber-tooth tigers come to us in many forms as discussed in the first article of this series.  Often, our modern tigers don’t even require a flight or fight, but our body still reacts this way.  Many social norms (manners, customs, insecurities) prevent us from actually facing the stress or running away from it.  Also, our tigers are more chronic in nature.

We find the following stress patterns in our western world today:

  1. Our fight or flight response is often active even though there is no actual threat to our safety.
  2. We are faced with chronic stress.
  3. Social Courtesies prevent us from engaging in combat or cutting out.
  4. The stress response remains unchecked and builds up.
  5. The stress response build-up leads to the production and release of constant, unopposed cortisol.
  6. We become sick from the stress cycle.

The less desirable effects of cortisol on the body in the face of chronic distress include:

  • A suppressed immune system leading to a decrease in our resistance to infections, cancer, and illness;
  • An increase in blood pressure which can lead to stroke, aneurysm or heart attack;
  • A decrease in bone mass (in an attempt to supply the blood with ample amounts of nutrients);
  • A depletion of natural pain killers (endorphins) which can aggravate pain anywhere in the body;
  • A decrease in both male and female sex hormones leading to decreased libido, impotence, absent periods and infertility;
  • Inhibiting the function of the digestive system (which works best when we’re relaxed) leading to diarrhea, constipation, bloating, abdominal pain or other related concerns;
  • A decrease in insulin sensitivity leading to or aggravating diabetes;
  • An increase in liver production of cholesterol which gets deposited in the blood vessels leading to heart disease;
  • A thickening of the blood which can worsen your risk for cardiovascular disease;
  • An affect on the functioning of the thyroid gland and thyroid hormone which can cause changes to your metabolism.

As you can see stress is a big player in our state of health.  Since stress is unavoidable, what can you do about this?  You can change how you cope with stress and improve your body’s capability to handle it.  Don’t miss the final article in this series, “Stress Reduction Techniques – Breath or Die, and I’m Dead Serious”

Naturopathic medicine is a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.

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17
Mar

Menopause Relief – Could It Really Be About Stress Relief?

   Posted by: Dr. Tonia Mitchell ND Tags: , , , , , ,

We’ve all heard about menopause.  We’ve all heard about the symptoms that some women experience: hot flashes, dry mucous membranes, insomnia, anxiety, depression, decreased libido.  We typically associate these symptoms with decreasing levels of hormones: mainly estrogen and progesterone.  While this is true, it is not the whole story.  Our hormonal system is complex, and while we usually think of “hormones” as our reproductive hormones there are several others, all of which have important functions in the body.  When we are thinking of menopause relief we have to look at hormones beyond those of the reproductive system.

The main hormonal system I want to bring to your attention is that of the adrenal glands.  These small glands sit above our kidneys and are comprised of two main sections.  The outer section produces two main hormones important to this discussion: cortisol (2, in figure) and DHEA (3), both are derived from cholesterol (1).  In general, cortisol is active during stress and DHEA is active during relaxation.  More specifically cortisol increases our blood sugar, stores fat around the belly, suppresses the immune system, decreases inflammation and inhibits proper thyroid function.  DHEA, on the other hand, regenerates tissue, restores our energy, improves our mood, increases immune function and builds bone and muscle.

As you can see in the figure, DHEA leads to the production of sex hormones (4).  During and after menopause (5), when the ovaries stop producing estrogen and progesterone, the adrenal glands step up to take on this job.  BUT, when we are chronically stressed (which is common in our fast-paced, North American society), our adrenal glands are too busy producing cortisol. In fact, your body will choose to produce cortisol over DHEA in the face of chronic stress! This is compounded by a natural decrease in DHEA with age.  Don’t get me wrong, cortisol is an important hormone.  However, when it is chronically elevated at the expense of DHEA then it becomes a problem.  Without DHEA, we cannot produce our reproductive hormones after menopause.  Our menopausal-induced reproductive hormone deficiency is made even worse by our chronic stress!

What does all this jargon mean for your menopausal symptoms? I hope I have made it clear that stress relief is an important part of menopause relief.  Give your adrenal glands a chance to support the normal hormonal pathways. The adrenal glands LOVE routine and the best ways to support them include:

  • maintain steady blood sugar levels.  Eat a small meal containing fiber and protein every 2-3 hours.
  • get adequate sleep at the right time – go to bed at 10 pm in a completely dark room.
  • exercise regularly.
  • avoid stimulants, including sugar and coffee.
  • practice deep breathing, meditation or yoga.
  • consume adequate essential fatty acids, minerals and protein.
  • see your local Naturopathic Doctor for the perfect treatment plan to suit your menopause relief needs.

It is important to support our adrenal glands all the time as they have a big job to perform.  However, it is especially important to support them as we age because their job gets even bigger!

Naturopathic medicine is a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.

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16
Dec

Back Suffering Treatments and Options for Cure

   Posted by: author1 Tags: , , , ,

The best care you can ever get if you have had a serious injory is to continue to be under your doctores care who will help treat your long term pain.  Sometimes those injuries are too severe to respond properly to home care and remedies, and ignoring them or assuming that the pain will just go away can lead to even more serious injury.  However you can often treat back pain at home with some simple tips and techniques if your pain is not due to a major injury and if you follow a few simple tips and techniques.

For one thing, you may have been told that it’s good to get off your feet to treat Back Suffering .  It’s true that sometimes your back needs some rest and isn’t going to get it when you’re hunched over your desk at work or if you’re moving furniture and boxes all day.  But being physically inactive for long periods of time can actually just make back pain even worse.  The reason for this is that when you exercise you’re loosening up and stretching those muscles of the back and are encouraging more blood and oxygen in this area as well.  A good walk is actually a basic way to treat back pain if you do so with some good shoes and on a flat surface that’s not going to shock and jar you.Lots of doctors are really just giving their patients a few routines of stretching exercises to see if this will start helping the back pain.In many more cases than you would think, just a few simple exercises of stretching and yoga really help with back pain.

You can also treat back pain with heat.  A good heating pad when you’re sitting in your favorite chair can help to loosen those muscles as well.

Another suggestion to treat Back Pain is to recline in a comfortable spot and put a pillow under your knees.Sometimes what this does is take away a lot of pressure from that area at the small of your back and transfers it to another supported spot.

And of course there’s not much you can do to treat back pain if you’re severely overweight.  When you’re carrying extra body weight the back is working that much harder to move you around and support you.  Many hate to heart this and instead opt for pain pills and other harsh measures to treat back pain but this is just masking the problem instead of really fixing it.  Most who are overweight have back pain in one form or another and the connection between the two cannot be denied.

Simple homemade remedies and tricks to treat back pain may seem just too simple for many people, but sometimes the smallest change or simplest option can give the most relief.  The back is made to function in a particular way and anytime we push it to do more or ignore what it needs to function properly, we’re going to be in pain.  But with a little support and a few simple tips and tricks, a person can actually live relatively pain free when it comes to their back.

BackSuffering.com is a new website with tons of information on back suffering. If you visit the website today you will get a free ebook with Back Suffering Tips and Tricks just for visiting! Visit BACKSUFFERING.COM now to get your free ebook.

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