Stress comes in many forms. It can be emotional. It can make you feel anxious, worried, or fearful. Stress can also be chemical. Many Americans deal with chemically induced physiological stress by taking drugs, eating too many processed toxic-chemical laden foods, or abusing alcohol. Stress can be physical. It can cause muscle tension, neck pain, backaches, stomach ulcers, and heart attacks. No matter how it enters our lives, stress has the ability to lower your body’s immune system and put you on an unhealthy path.

The most common symptoms of stress include headaches, fatigue, neck pain, shoulder or lower back pain, irritability, digestive problems, and sleeping problems to name a few. In fact, many people misinterpret stress for a chronic disease or illness. This can be a constant battle. I help many patients understand the stressors in their lives and work with them to reduce the effects of those stresses on their body.  Here are some of the key tips...

I can attest to the fact, the muscle strains of pregnancy are very real and can be more than just a nuisance. A woman gains an average of 25 to 35 pounds during pregnancy. This weight gain, combined with the increased stress on the body by the baby, may result in severe discomfort.

During the stages of pregnancy, a woman’s center of gravity shifts forward to the front of her pelvis causing stress on her joints and low back. As the baby grows in size, a woman’s abdomen is pushed even further forward increasing the curvature of the low back and placing extra stress on the spinal discs.

I tell my patients everyday inflammation is the root cause of many serious illnesses including heart disease, cancer, arthritis and auto-immune disease to name a few.  But do they really understand what inflammation is and how it affects their body.

Inflammation is the body’s healing response to damage. Inflammation becomes a problem when it is persistent. If you have an injury or infection, inflammation helps to protect and heal the body through nourishment thus repairing the cells. Difficulty occurs when inflammation becomes chronic, often silently damaging your tissues.

Chronic inflammation is a result of an unhealthy lifestyle. I like my patients to understand what causes inflammation in their bodies and discuss ways to help them reduce it. The 3 major causes of inflammation stem from our food choices, the stressors in our life and the minor traumatic injuries over time...