Managing Stress

“The Secret To Managing Your Stress More Effectively”

Today I am going to share with you a little known secret that will help you manage your stress levels much more effectively without relying on drugs or prescription medication.

For those of you who visit our website on a regular basis, you have often times heard me refer to something called a subluxation.

Remember that a subluxation is a partial or incomplete dislocation of one or more of the vertebrae in your spine.

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These will pinch and irritate your spinal nerve roots, they will cause postural distortions in your spine and they will cause degenerative arthritis in your spine.

All of these will impair the function of your nerve system.

What you need to know is that stress causes subluxations. Physical, mental and emotional stress all will cause subluxations in your spine.

So, the secret to managing your stress more effectively is to minimize your subluxations.

This is done with the chiropractic adjustment.

Remember that the chiropractic adjustment will realign your vertebrae into a better anatomical position which will allow your nerve system to work better and stronger, allowing your body to defend the negative effects of stress much more effectively.

We will continue with more on this next time, but in the meantime if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because spinal problems tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Types Of Stress

“The Three Types Of Stress
That Can Negatively Impact
Your Health And Wellness”

Today as we continue our discussions about stress, you are going to learn about the 3 types of stress that affect each and every one of us; man, women and child.

The 3 types of stress are physical, mental and chemical.

Let me explain.

Physical stress is any type of force that will negatively impact or harm your body.

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Examples of physical stress are sporting injuries, whiplash injuries to your spine from a whiplash car accident, lifting injuries to your lower back, poor posture, giving birth to a child and even the birth process itself.

Mental stress are those things which can weigh heavy on your mind.

Common sources of mental stress these days are job insecurity, unhealthy relationships with family members or friends and what I like to call “ stinkin’ thinkin’ “.

Stinkin’ thinkin’ is self-talk (and we all do it) but it is negative, depressing and destructive.

The 3rd kind of stress which is chemical stress results from toxins that enter our body either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Common sources of toxins are smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs, prescription medication and a diet full of sugar, refined and processed phones.

To find out how these 3 types of stress really affect your health, please refer to last week’s video/text and next time, I am going to share with you a little known secret about stress that just may be what you need to know to help manage your stress more effectively.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have, please give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because subluxations tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) or you can email us at life[at]lifechiropracticcentre.com.

Life Chiropractic .. helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Understanding What Stress Is

“This Is How Stress
Really Affects Your Health”

Let’s start today’s discussion by reviewing what stress really is.

Stress is your body’s response to ANY demand placed upon it whether the demand is pleasant or not.

Positive stress allows us to accomplish difficult tasks and rise to the challenge.

But, negative stress will cause physical damage at the cellular level and impair the function of your immune system.

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So, how can you tell if you or someone close to you is suffering from too much stress? Well, there will always be clues.

And these clues will either be EMOTIONAL signs, BEHAVIOURAL signs or PHYSICAL signs.

Let me clarify.

For example, common ‘emotional signs’ of too much stress would be worry, insecurity, nervousness and depression. Common ‘behavioural signs’ of too much stress would be eating disorders, sleeping disorders such as insomnia, short of temper and drug/alcohol overuse.

And common ‘physical signs’ would be headaches, grinding of the teeth, stiff muscles and joints, and lowered resistance to infections.

So, if you have determined that you or someone in your family is having health issues due to too much stress, this is the point where you need to think very carefully and understand the difference between cause and effect.

Why?

Because it is so easy to get all caught up in treating the signs and symptoms while totally ignoring why the stress is there in the first place.

More on this next time, but in the meantime if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you may have or your family may have, please give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because spinal problems tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives in Burlington for over 25 years!

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Personal Stress Survey

“Take This Survey To Determine Your Personal Stress Level”

Today we are going to continue our discussion on stress but before we really get into this, I think it is important that you take this brief stress survey to find out how much stress you really are under.

What I would like you to do is answer each of the following 5 questions and place the following numerical value to each of your answers.

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If your answer to the question is ‘always’, answer with the number 4.

If your answer is ‘often’, answer with the number 3.

If your answer is ‘sometimes’, answer with the number 2.

And if your answer is ‘never’, answer with the number 1.

Here are the 5 questions:

1. Do you find yourself with no time to do the things you really enjoy?

2. Do you feel people expect too much from you?

3. Do you feel overwhelmed more often than not?

4. Do you fell exhausted at the end of the day?

5. Do you feel that there are not enough hours in the day to do what you need to do?

Now what I would like you to do is total up the 5 numbers you have written down.

If your total is 5 to 10, your stress level is low. If your total is 10 to 15, your stress level is moderate.

If your total is 15 to 20, your stress level is high.

If you are in the moderate to high stress level range, you need to be sure to visit us again next week as you are going to learn how stress really affects your health and what you can do to manage stress more effectively.

If you have any immediate questions on this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have, please give us a call.

You can also send us an email.

Our contact information is found on our home page.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available. Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

stress management

“What You Can Do To Better Manage Your Stress”

Over the next few weeks we are going to talk about stress.

A while ago I remember reading on the front page of USA Today that ‘stress’ was becoming the #1 killer in America.

And it has been my experience that things are really not that much different here in Canada.

A lot of people remark on how they are ‘so stressed out’ these days but very few understand what stress really is and especially the consequences that stress can have on your health.

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So we are going to discuss natural remedies and approaches to managing your stress effectively and how chiropractic care has helped thousands of patients all over the planet cope better with their stress.

This is how Dorland’s Medical Dictionary defines stress; stress is the sum of all biological reactions in the body to any adverse stimuli. Adverse stimuli can either be physical, mental/emotional or chemical in nature and they can affect the body either externally or internally.

Let me clarify …. a whiplash injury to your neck from a car accident would be a form of physical stress from the outside (external ).

An ulcer in your stomach from taking too much aspirin would be a form of chemical stress from the inside ( internal ).

Spilling battery acid on your skin causing a chemical burn would be a form of chemical stress from the outside ( external ).

Let’s say you are worried about your job security and this is causing you mental/emotional stress.

As a result your blood pressure is starting to elevate. The ‘worrying’ is internal but the cause of the worrying is external ( job security ).

Now, when your body has trouble dealing or coping with these adverse stimuli, this is when stress starts to have a negative impact on your health.

And it is no secret that stress can cause anything from a minor headache to heart disease and even cancer.

We will get more into this next time but if you have any immediate questions on this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have, please give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are also available as subluxations and spinal problems tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE ( 5433 ).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here For A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Treating Anxiety With Chiropractic

“Here’s How Chiropractic Care Can Help With Anxiety”

Today we are going to conclude our discussion on natural remedies and treatment options for GAD (general anxiety disorder) .

If you or someone close to you is suffering from anxiety, you are about to learn how chiropractic care can help.

I would like you to refer to the Chart of Effects of Spinal Misalignments found on the right side of our home page. The very first vertebra at the very top of your neck is called your atlas.

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This is the most important vertebra in your entire spine because if it is misaligned or subluxated, this can negatively impact the function of your entire nerve system. How? … remember that the spinal cord at the top of your neck just beneath your skull is a bundle of every single nerve in your body.

So a subluxation here can affect every single nerve in your body.

You will also see that the atlas vertebra is also connected to the sympathetic part of your nerve system. And when your sympathetic nerve system is out of balance and not functioning properly due to subluxation of your atlas, this can cause anxiety and anxiety-like symptoms.

And this is why so many people who suffer from anxiety have benefited from chiropractic care because adjustment of the atlas will restore normal balance and function of your sympathetic nerve system.

For those of you who want to learn more about natural remedies and treatment options for GAD, I strongly urge you to attend our Free Anxiety Workshop on Monday, April 28th right here at Life Chiropractic Centre.

All you need to do is call 905 335 LIFE (5433) to RSVP your attendance as seating is limited and this workshop always fills up very quickly.
Start time is 7 PM sharp.

You will find more information on this workshop and others also on the right side of our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives in Burlington for over 25 years.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Treating Anxiety With Diet And Exercise

“Treating General Anxiety Disorder Through Exercise And Diet”

Today we are going to continue our discussion on alternative and natural remedies for the treatment of GAD ( general anxiety disorder).

Even though medication may be necessary in some instances, it is always a good idea to keep the following in mind in the event that you would like to try managing your anxiety with less medication or without medication.

But if you are under the care of a doctor for the treatment of GAD specifically, you must consult with them regarding any changes you want to make regarding medication.

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Two other deficiencies that can lead to anxiety are lack of aerobic exercise and lack of stretching.

And of the two, the greatest lack in North America is that of stretching.

So, with any of my patients who suffer from anxiety, I always recommend 30 minutes of aerobic exercise per day (even if just brisk walking on a treadmill or outside when the weather is nice) and 30 minutes of stretching per day.

I have a very effective stretching program that I teach all of my patients who are suffering from this condition.

Regarding your diet, it is very important to avoid things such as sugar, alcohol, tobacco, recreational drugs and coffee as all of these can increase your levels of anxiety.

When we continue this discussion next week, you are going to learn how chiropractic care has helped countless numbers of patients who suffer from GAD.

Now, for those of you who are serious about learning more about this condition either for yourself or a family member, you are more than welcome to attend our Free Anxiety Workshop on Monday, April 28th at 7pm sharp right here at Life Chiropractic Centre.

All you need to do is call 905 335 5433905 335 5433 to RSVP your attendance because seating is limited and this workshop always fills up very quickly.

This is certainly one workshop not to miss if you have any concerns about anxiety.

You can find more details about the Anxiety Workshop and other workshops on the right hand side of the home page of our web-site.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Alternative Treatment For Anxiety

“Natural Alternatives For The Treatment of General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)”

Over the next few weeks we will be discussing alternative/holistic treatments for General Anxiety Disorder (GAD).

Even though medication may be the treatment of choice for some patients and in some situations, it is always a good idea to keep the following in mind in the event you choose to manage your anxiety without medication or at least with less medication.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and other forms of talk therapy have been shown to be very effective in treating anxiety. Neuro-feedback therapy (learning how to manage the electrical signals in your brain) has also helped people manage their anxiety.

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And TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) has also proven to be helpful. As with chiropractic, TCM recognizes that there is no separation between mind and body. And from a TCM perspective, dysfunction in the spleen organ system can cause anxiety so this is where they would focus their attention.

Herbal remedies such as valerian and passionflower prove beneficial for some and it has been shown that deficiencies in calcium/magnesium and the essential fatty acids can lead to anxiety.

And unfortunately, the typical North American diet is deficient in all of these.

The B-vitamins are also very important as they are crucial for normal and healthy brain, spinal cord and nerve function so it is very important to make sure your are getting enough of these in your diet. Sources are green leafy vegetables, fortified cereals, bananas, poultry, tuna, salmon and avocados to name a few.

If you are taking any medication for the treatment of anxiety, you should not incorporate any of these alternative treatments without discussing with your specialist or doctor first.

We will continue discussing alternative treatments for GAD next week, but in the meantime if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have, please give us a call or contact us via email.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because spinal problems and subluxations tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433) and email contact can be found on our home page.

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad

Causes And Treatment Of Anxiety

“Here Are Some Potential Causes And Treatment Of General Anxiety Disorder”

Today we are going to continue our discussion on General Anxiety Disorder (GAD ) – its causes and what you need to know about the most popular forms of treatment for this condition.

Currently there is no known cause for GAD. But there are a number of suspected causes.

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Let’s take a closer look at four potential causes.

1. Genetics – this means you could inherit the condition from a blood relative who has it.
2. Neurotransmitters – these are chemicals in your brain that are responsible for allowing one brain cell to communicate with another. In other words, the passage of information from one brain cell to another. When the neurotransmitters are out of balance , this can lead to confusion within the brain which can then cause anxiety within the individual.
3. Environment – stressful situations or traumatic events such as abuse (sexual, physical, mental), death of a loved one or even changing schools can cause anxiety. Also, use of or withdrawal from addictive substances ( drugs, alcohol, medication etc. ) can also cause GAD.
4. Physical health issues – serious or chronic health issues such as Crohn’s disease or cancer can lead to anxiety.

Patients often begin to worry about their own mortality, the implications on their family and the funding future treatment in some instances.

Regarding the most popular forms of treatment for this condition which is medication, you need to know that there are over 100 different side-effects associated with the top 5 anti-anxiety medications alone!

Even though these are sometimes necessary, you need to be aware of side-effects such as depression, suicidal thoughts, confusion, hyperactivity, hostile behavior, hallucinations and chest pains just to name a few.

You can easily research the side-effects of any medication you or someone you care about is taking on the internet.

Next time we are going to start learning about natural treatment options for GAD but in the meantime if you have any questions about this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have, please don’t hesitate to give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because spinal problems and subluxations tend to run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic… helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book a Free Initial Consultation With Dr. Brad At The Burlington Clinic

Anxiety Symptoms And Risk Factors

“Here’s What You Need To Know About Anxiety Symptoms And Risk Factors”

Over the next few weeks we will be discussing anxiety and my goal is to help you better understand this condition and to help you make a more informed decision if you need to seek treatment for this condition for yourself or for someone who is close to you.

Mental illness indirectly affects all Canadians at some point in their life either through a family member, friend or colleague.

Mental illness of which anxiety is one type will directly affect 20% of the Canadian population ( that is over 7 million people! ) regardless of age, income, education or culture.

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The economic burden of mental illness in Canada is estimated to be 51 billion dollars per year.

And the disease burden of mental illness in Ontario is 1.5 times higher than all cancers put together! We have a problem !!

Even though there are about 10 different types of anxiety, we will be focusing on GAD or General Anxiety Disorder.

Anxiety is considered to be a normal part of the human experience. We all get it from time to time.

But when it starts to or persistently interferes with work, school, sleep and relationships, this is not considered to be normal.

The physiological effects of anxiety are as follows: fear, breathlessness, choking sensations, restlessness, heart palpitations and increased muscular tension. Certain risk factors have been identified that could pre-dispose you to developing anxiety.

They are as follows: being female, a family history of the disease, having suffered a childhood trauma ( physically, emotionally, sexually )and drug or alcohol abuse.

In our next post, we will be discussing the probable causes of GAD and what you need to know about the most popular and current forms of treatment.

But in the meantime, if you have any questions on this topic or any other health concerns you or your family may have please give us a call.

Remember that consultations are always free of charge and family appointments are always available because subluxations and spinal problems do run in families.

Our phone number is 905 335 LIFE (5433).

Life Chiropractic … helping families just like yours build vibrant, healthy, drug-free lives for over 25 years in Burlington.

Click Here To Book A Free Initial Appointment With Dr. Brad