Stress and Immune Function: What Everybody Needs to Know
CHIROPRACTIC & HEALTH
A Natural Connection
June 2020
© The Wellness Practice
QUOTE BOARD:
"After completing questionnaires assessing degrees of psychological stress, 394 healthy subjects were given nasal drops containing one of five respiratory viruses (rhinovirus type 2, 9, or 14, respiratory syncytial virus, or coronavirus type 229E), and an additional 26 were given saline nasal drops."
"Three measures of psychological stress were used: the number of major stressful life events judged by the subject as having had a negative impact on his or her psychological state in the past year, the degree to which the subject perceived that current demands exceeded his or her ability to cope, and an index of current negative affect [emotions]."
"The rates of both respiratory infection and clinical colds increased in a dose-response manner with increases in the degree of psychological stress."
"Moreover, the consistency of the stress-illness relation among three very different viruses – rhinovirus, coronavirus, and respiratory syncytial virus (as well as among rhinovirus types) – was impressive. This observation suggests that stress is associated with the suppression of a general resistance process in the host, leaving persons susceptible to multiple infectious agents, or that stress is associated with the suppression of many different immune processes, with similar results."
Key Concepts:
Chronic physical and/or emotional stress leads to chronic reduced baseline health and immune function. Chronic reduced baseline health and immune function leads to increased risk of infectious and chronic illness.
Your brain perceives and reacts to emotional and physical stressors in virtually identical ways. In fact, chronic physical pain often leads to chronic emotional pain such as depression and vice versa. The mind-body is singular and both are affected by, and can be sources of, health and immune function reducing stress.
Key Take Home Points:
Make sure you take measures to reduce emotional stress as well as increase your level of psychological fitness or resilience.
Also make sure you take measures to reduce the physical stress caused by immobile, inflamed, dysfunctional joints and muscles. Take care of your spine, ensure you have the physical mobility and function needed to avoid the physical stress of inflammation and pain.
Get regular spinal checkups and healthy lifestyle tips from your chiropractor!
Brought to you by: Dr Nathan's Chiropractic Studio
Phone: 0400041976
Website: www.drnathanjenner.com.au
Email: nathan@drnathanjenner.com.au
Dr Nathan Jenner is a Chiropractor with 19 years experience helping patients with back pain, disc injuries, sciatica and back pain related issues. His practice in Windsor, Victoria, 3181, serving patients in the Windsor, Prahran, South Yarra and St Kilda are of inner south-east Melbourne. If you are suffering from back or leg pain why not call 0400041976 to arrange a time or email or contact me if you have further questions.
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