Stress is a reaction to a stimulus or a condition that causes tension. As soon as there is a stressful situation our body reacts to it. There are negative health effects related to stress, but there are also healthy forms of stress! We call this last one positive stress.
Positive Stress
Positive stress is useful in (emergency) situations in which we need to act quickly. For example, when crossing the street without looking carefully and suddenly a car comes at us. Stress can also make us alert and ensure we perform well. For example, when we are nervous for a competition or an important activity at work. After those situations, our body returns to a state of rest again.
Negative Stress
Negative stress is the opposite and is an unhealthy form of tension. When negative stress lasts too long complaints can arise in the musculoskeletal system. If you do not seek stress treatment when complaints persist, stress can pose a danger to your physical health. Pain Away Clinic is (also) specialized in diagnosing and treating chronic complaints related to stress.
Stress Explained
But what happens when we have stress? When we have stress, adrenaline is released in our body. We call this the fight or flight response. Our muscles contract, blood pressure and heart rate rise, and our lungs and pupils dilate. Functions that do not contribute to a fight or flight response are inhibited (for example, digestion). After a few minutes the stress hormone cortisol is released, our blood sugar level rises and our metabolism speeds up a bit. This sequence of events gives us more energy to deal with the stressful situation.
Stress Treatment
In order to relieve you from complaints related to stress, we do not only look at the result (for example, back pain or neck pain) but we’ll try to get to the cause of it (it could be work related or stress at home). In certain cases, our clients do not even realize the complaints arise from negative stress, because the connection is often not as obvious. After a tailored diagnosis, we will offer a personalized treatment plan and additionally homework (exercise or stretching) to reduce the effects of stress. In addition to aiding your physical complaints with stress treatment through physical therapy, we will also advise you to pursue stress management. Once stress is managed accordingly, physical complaints related to stress will be less likely to arise.
Live Stress-Free
Do you ever experience positive stress? Excellent! This is very good! Do you ever experience negative stress? Do you have physical complaints resulting from stress? Pain Away Clinic can help you reduce your (chronic) complaints with stress management through physical therapy. In addition, we will try to prevent those complaints from arising again by tackling the cause of your complaints. We are also specialized in relaxing sports massages that will give you a physical and mental boost. And if you know how to manage negative stress accordingly, you can live life even more stress-free! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
