OSTEOPATHY AND STRESS / A NEW BALANCE

Many of the patients who turn to the osteopath for symptoms also have co-causes due to stress or anxiety and many other psycho-physical disorders. Osteopathic treatment can be a complementary therapy to the suffering of the emotional and stressed patient.

When a physical and relational traumatic event occurs, cortisol begins to be produced in our body, commonly known as the stress hormone, whose function is to make more energy available to the muscles and reduce the state of inflammation with effects on other organs (heart, lungs, circulatory system). In this way, the body tends to restore its balance. If this stressful situation is maintained over time, in emotional cases it happens more easily, but the production of cortisol can have negative consequences on the adaptability of the body itself.

Stress can be the cause of physical and mental illness.

The symptoms of a stressful condition can be physical (e.g. pain, muscle tension especially in the cervical area, colitis, tachycardia, sleep disorders, etc.), behavioral (e.g. bruxism, eating problems), emotional (mood swings, anxiety, nervousness), cognitive (poor concentration, memory loss).

Rebalancing the vegetative nervous system allows us to reduce the imbalance between the orthosympathetic and parasympathetic systems that interact with the endocrine system to stimulate the production of hormones, therefore cortisol. Orthosympathetic and parasympathetic functions alternate throughout the day to keep the system in balance. In cases of prolonged high levels of negative stress, there is an over-activation of the orthosympathetic system and a consequent loss of balance of the system.