Category: General Health

7 Ways to a Healthier Life

August is National Wellness Month, and what better time to celebrate as schedules are becoming busier after the summer. This month highlights self-care, stress management, and creating healthy routines that boost mental, physical, and emotional wellness. You can participate in National Wellness Month by making these small tweaks and additions to your everyday life:

1. Drink More Water

Your body can’t function at its best without proper hydration. Water keeps your joints lubricated, eliminates toxins, improves digestion, and transports the nutrients you need for energy. Not to mention, it hydrates your skin for a more youthful appearance.

Aim to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. If you find it hard to meet this goal, you can infuse your water with fruit, herbs like mint and basil, or use sparkling water.

2. Practice Deep Breathing

You may not realize this, but when you’re stressed, you tend to hold your breath. This leads to muscle tension and pain. Taking time to practice deep, intentional breathing can help your nervous system relax, reduce stress, and calm your mind.

Try this exercise: inhale through your nose for 4 seconds and allow the air to fill your stomach, hold it for 4 seconds, then exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds.

3. Schedule a Massage

Massage therapy in Bend is a great way to step away from fast-paced life and relax physically and mentally. Each session works to soothe sore muscles, improve your circulation, promote healing, reduce stress levels, and more.

Plus, August 15 is National Relaxation Day, making it the perfect day to book your session with a massage therapist in Bend.

4. Exercise Daily

Exercise is not only good for stress relief, but it also keeps you physically well by increasing strength, flexibility, and reducing discomfort. Working out also releases feel-good endorphins, which gives you a mental boost. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and switch up your routine with dancing, swimming, yoga, etc.

Exercising outside offers added benefits of vitamin D production and resetting your biological clock for better sleep. Studies have shown that even being in nature can reduce the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

5. Cut Back on Sugar

Although sugar is sweet, its impact can be a bit sour. Too much sugar can cause fatigue, digestive issues, skin problems, and other health complications. Cut back on the sugary snacks and replace them with fruits and vegetables. These foods provide energy and vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that help you feel better.

6. Try Acupuncture

Acupuncture in Bend can totally reset your nervous system, enhance your energy, and address specific discomforts and ailments that stop you from feeling your best. This therapy also releases feel-good hormones, increases circulation, and loosens muscles.

7. Visit Our Chiropractors in Bend

Start National Wellness Month with a visit to the best chiropractic care in Bend. Chiropractic care reduces pain, improves your mood, and realigns your spine for better posture. Our skilled chiropractors also offer individualized tips and stretches that keep you balanced and well even after your visit.

What are the Benefits of Cupping Massage Therapy?

Have you ever seen someone with perfectly round marks on their skin? Chances are, they recently received cupping therapy. This treatment method has grown more popular as athletes and everyday workers have realized the transformational benefits it has. If you already incorporate holistic services, like chiropractic care and acupuncture in Bend, into your routine, you may benefit from adding cupping to your next appointment.

Continue reading to learn more about this therapy and its health benefits.

What is Cupping?

Cupping is an ancient traditional chinese medicine practice that involves placing glass cups, plastic cups, metal cups, or silicone cups on the skin. Using heat or air, your massage therapist in Bend will create a suction between your skin and the special cups. This pulls blood to the surface of your skin and allows for several body-wide benefits, most notably pain relief. Although, patients also report experiencing everything from respiratory to gastrointestinal relief.

Cupping therapy is an alternative medicine that works similarly to acupuncture in Bend, as both treatment methods focus on energy pathways known as meridians throughout your body. When energy flows positively, it is thought to boost your health in many ways.

Benefits of Cupping

1. Pain Relief

A cupping session is an excellent treatment method for pain. Your massage therapist in Bend will target problem areas like your back, neck, or shoulders to ease tension, decrease stiffness, and release deep knots and adhesions. If you have arthritis, you may benefit specifically from cupping on the affected joints.

2. Relaxation

By releasing muscle tension, cupping can promote physical relaxation and stress relief. Your massage therapist in Bend may move the cups along your body to give the same effect of a deep tissue massage. Not to mention, the simple act of taking time to care for yourself can provide mental relaxation in addition to muscle relaxation.

3. Faster Healing

Your body sees cupping therapy as an “injury,” which causes it to send more blood and healing elements to the treatment area. This increased blood flow encourages faster healing and recovery of your true underlying injuries.

4. Healthier Skin

Because cupping brings blood and other nutrients to the skin’s surface, you can expect to see a visible color change and glow to your appearance after a few sessions. Plus, it clears the pores of toxins, which may be good news for acne and other skin conditions.

5. Detoxifying

When your blood circulation is poor, toxins begin to build up in the body. Cupping therapy increases blood flow to help remove toxins and other waste from deep muscles. We recommend drinking lots of water after your session to flush these newly released toxins out of your system.

Cupping therapy may cause some slight discomfort, bruising, or scarring. However, it should subside within several days. There is a small risk of infection at the treatment site, so be sure to follow all instructions for cleaning and caring for your spots after therapy.

We strive to offer the best chiropractic care in Bend with a variety of services that work together to make you feel your best inside and out. We can easily incorporate cupping as an effective treatment to add into your massage therapy in Bend.

Importance of Self-Care in the Digital Age

How many hours a day do you use technology? You’re even using it right now. While technology makes it easier to connect and communicate, it can also have a negative impact on your mind and body if you use it too often.

But we get it — it’s just not possible to completely cut the phones, computers, and other electronic devices. However, it’s important to take at least a few hours out of each day to unplug and reset your mind and body.

Continue reading to learn about the benefits of powering down your devices and powering back up with chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture in Bend.

Relieves Stress

When you take your work home with you, your brain doesn’t get any downtime. Try to take some time off work-related technology when you get home to reduce stress. Taking a walk, reading a book, or doing a hobby can all ease these symptoms.

Getting a massage is a great relaxation technique. Massage therapy has been found to physically decrease stress hormones like cortisol and increase feel-good hormones, such as oxytocin and dopamine. Plus, your massage therapist in Bend uses techniques to relieve the physical symptoms of stress, like muscle knots.

Acupuncture is one more form of therapy that can help alleviate stress. This treatment uses hair-size needles to stimulate your nervous system and reset the body. It also releases hormones that encourage euphoria and relaxation.

Supports Mental Health

The FOMO (fear of missing out) and comparison that comes with social media can cause feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and more. Research even shows that people with heavy technology usage are more likely to experience sleep deprivation, anxiety, and depression.

It can help to set time limits on individual apps and intentionally focus on daily gratitude. Plugging back into reality can support your mental health.

Improves Sleep Quality

Blue light from your electronic devices has been linked to decreased serotonin and melatonin, which are hormones your body needs for sleep. Reducing your usage about 2 hours before bed can help your body realize it’s time to wind down.

Massage therapy also encourages deeper rest. This effect not only occurs because of the hormones released during your session, but it also is because massage slows your heart rate and gives you time to completely step away from the stressors of everyday life.

Boosts Your Physical Health

It may not be the first thing that comes to your mind, but technology drastically affects your body. The way you usually hold your phone causes muscle strain in your neck and shoulders, which is better known as “text neck.”

Text neck results in aches, stiffness, soreness, and spinal damage. Not to mention, bending over a keyboard or poor posture sitting at your desk can compress your nerves, leading to seemingly unrelated issues like headaches and tingling in your arms and legs.

While looking up and stepping away from your devices can reduce this impact, you need something more. That’s where massage therapy and chiropractic care in Bend comes in. Chiropractic care restores proper alignment and relieves pressure on your spine. Massage therapy in Bend also releases tension in the neck and shoulders to help you feel lighter and looser even after your first visit.

Even though you can’t give up technology, you can reduce its effect on your mind, body, and spirit with the best chiropractic care in Bend. Come in for a visit for an individualized plan to help you feel your best.

National Migraine & Headache Awareness Month: How Chiro, Massage and Acupuncture Can Ease Your Pain

For those who experience migraines and headaches, everyday tasks during an episode become extremely difficult. That’s why June is National Migraine & Headache Awareness Month. This event encourages those with headaches and migraines to get proper diagnosis and treatment, while highlighting the available options for relief. Chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture are three treatment methods that may reduce the frequency and severity of these conditions.

What’s the Difference Between Migraines and Headaches?

It’s important to understand the difference between these two headache disorders. Most people will experience a headache at some point in their lives. However, migraines are a recurrent, often debilitating condition that affect 1 in 7 people, according to the World Health Organization.

Headaches are usually short-term, lasting for a few hours — although, you may experience them in clusters for days at a time. A headache is characterized by mild to severe pressure or aching on both sides of the head.

Depending on the type of headache you’re experiencing, the causes may vary:

• Stress
• Muscle tension or strain
• Sinuses or illness

On the other hand, migraine episodes can last anywhere from hours to days and cause a more intense reaction than a headache. In fact, migraines are accompanied by several symptoms beyond head pain:

• Nausea
• Pain behind the eyes or ears
• Light sensitivity
• Temporary loss of vision
• Seeing spots or flashes of light
• Vomiting

While more research is needed to determine the exact cause of migraine, it’s becoming clearer that this condition stems from the nervous system. More specifically, it is an instability in how the brain deals with certain sensory information.

Some of these sensory triggers, include:

• Bright lights
• Loud noises
• Stress or anxiety
• Alcohol
• Hormonal changes

Treatment Options for Migraines & Headaches in Bend

Generally, migraine and headaches are treated using over-the-counter medications — and prescriptions in severe cases. However, these options treat the symptoms rather than the source of your problem. Holistic chiropractic care aims to get to the root cause of your discomfort and deliver longer-lasting results.

Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic adjustments fix subluxations, or misalignments, in the spine that can put pressure on the nerves and trigger headaches. By restoring the proper alignment and nerve function, chiropractic care can potentially reduce the frequency of attacks.

Massage Therapy

If your headaches stem from muscle tightness or stress, then massage therapy is clear choice. Your massage therapist in Bend will focus on trigger points in the back, shoulder, neck, and head. This technique releases pressure in the compressed nerves that are sending pain signals and making your headache worse.

Not to mention, massage therapy in Bend provides mental and physical relaxation to combat stress and tension headaches. Other benefits include:

• Relaxing tense muscles putting pressure on nerve pathways
• Relieving muscle spasms
• Improving blood flow to vessels that supply the brain

Acupuncture

Acupuncture focuses on the same trigger points as massage therapy. However, rather than simply releasing pressure, your acupuncturist in Bend signals the release of hormones and endorphins that make headache pain more bearable. This treatment option is also thought to help because of how it stimulates the immune and circulatory systems.

The best chiropractic care in Bend aims to keep you comfortable well after your appointment ends. That’s why our trained staff not only offers these treatment options for headaches, but we also give you lifestyle recommendations that may make your migraines and headaches more manageable.

Chiropractic Care for Runners: Preventing Plantar Fasciitis

Do you know that sharp pain in your heel when you first step out of bed in the morning? Well, it could be plantar fasciitis. If you’ve recently started running or even just stand on your feet all day, you may already be familiar with this condition. In fact, it is the leading cause of heel pain, especially among middle-aged adults. Fortunately, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and acupuncture work together to alleviate symptoms and promote healing.

Continue reading to learn your options for treating this condition:

What is Plantar Fasciitis?

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the ligament that connects the heel bone to your toes (plantar fascia) has small tears. This ligament becomes inflamed, swollen, and weak, which results in sharp, stabbing pain. Discomfort is more common when you first wake up, after exercising (rather than during it), while walking upstairs, during long days of standing, and after periods of inactivity.

This condition typically results for several reasons:

• Excessive exercise, especially for new runners, long-distance runners, and dancers
• Obesity because of excess pressure on the plantar fascia
• Flat feet or extremely high arches
• Standing on your feet all day
• Wearing shoes with poor arch support, like sandals and worn-out sneakers

Plantar fasciitis also more commonly affects those between the ages of 40 and 60 but can strike at any time.

Treatment Options for Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis can become chronic if left untreated. That’s why it’s important to seek out comprehensive treatment to help heal your condition and avoid surgery.

1. Chiropractic Care

Chiropractic care in Bend is a great treatment option for plantar fasciitis. Your chiropractor in Bend will not only manually adjust your joints, but they will also offer stretches you can do at home to avoid pain.

Chiropractic care provides several benefits for those with the condition:

• Eliminates pressure to reduce stress on the ligament
• Minimizes secondary injuries that can occur from misalignments in the hips, low back, ankles, and knees.
• Promotes healing by giving the feet time to rest

2. Massage Therapy

Massage therapy in Bend focuses on the muscles and other soft tissues that may contribute to plantar fasciitis. These muscles are mainly in the calf, such as the gastrocnemius, soleus, and plantaris. Muscles and tendons in the feet also contribute to this condition.

Using myofascial release, deep tissue, and stretching techniques, your massage therapist in Bend provides relief in these ways:

• Breaking down scar tissue in the foot
• Improving blood flow to the affected area for quicker healing of tears
• Relaxation of tight and restricted muscles

3. Acupuncture

Your acupuncturist in Bend will carefully place tiny needles in the foot and appropriate areas which will then:

• Rebalance nerve signals to provide immediate pain relief
• Release and lengthen overly tight muscles
• Promote proper healing

How to Prevent Plantar Fasciitis

There are several steps you can take to prevent your condition from worsening:

• Stretch your calves and feet before and after exercise
• Buy shoes with good arch supports or use inserts
• Opt for low impact exercises while you’re healing, like swimming
• Rest and ice your feet each day for 10 to 15 minutes

At Total Body Chiropractic & Massage in Bend, we offer these services to address and treat plantar fasciitis in a non-invasive way. We additionally offer Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT), which can desensitize nerves and break up scar tissue for further comfort and relief from this condition. We deliver the best chiropractic care in Bend that not only targets your problem areas but also improves full-body function to help you feel your best.

How Chiropractic and Massage Can Relieve Seasonal Allergy Symptoms

Fall is in full swing, and seasonal allergies are at an all-time high. Over 65 million people in America experience symptoms from the seasonal conditions, ranging from coughing, itchy eyes, sneezing, and runny nose to shortness of breath through the respiratory system, muscle pain, and chest tightness. However, with the help of the best chiropractic care in Bend, your symptoms do not have to ruin your season.

Continue reading to learn how chiropractic and massage therapy in Bend can reduce the severity of common allergy symptoms to make you more comfortable during allergy season.

What causes allergies?

Allergies occur when non-harmful particles enter the body and are perceived as a threat. The immune system then overreacts to these “foreign invaders” to fight them off and dispel them with an allergic response by sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, etc.

The most common allergy triggers during this season include:

• Pollen
• Grass
• Dust
• Pet Dander
• Mold

While you can cut down on the prevalence of some of these allergens with a thorough cleaning, there are some things you can’t avoid, like the outdoors. That’s why it is important to actively control your allergic reactions with comprehensive treatment options, like chiropractic care in Bend.

Can chiropractic care ease allergy symptoms?

Chiropractic treatment is a popular option for several conditions, from neck and back pain and migraines to sports injuries and even allergies. Unlike traditional methods, chiropractor care provides relief by targeting the cause of your allergies to prevent severe reactions rather than just dulling symptoms for chiropractic patients. Not to mention, conventional allergy medication may cause drowsiness and nausea.

Research shows a clear link between the nervous system and the immune system. So, when there are spinal misalignments, these two systems cannot have proper communication. Chiropractic adjustments remove this interference so that the immune system can fight off allergens more effectively without such a severe reaction with a better immune response.

Misalignments in the upper back are also known for increased shortness of breath in people with asthma. So, regular chiropractic care and gentle adjustments can potentially allow better airflow.

How does massage therapy in Bend alleviate allergies?

Massage therapy shows promise in providing immediate relief of allergy problems. Your massage therapist in Bend will use lymphatic drainage techniques boost the circulation of lymph and other fluids to ease sinus congestion — one of the most common allergy symptoms. Likewise, massage therapy improves blood flow, which can quickly ease sinus headaches and other discomforts.

It’s no secret that stress is the root cause of various health conditions, and allergies are no different. Studies even show that stress can significantly increase the severity of your symptoms. Massage therapy provides effective allergy treatment through mental and physical relaxation to decrease the body’s reaction to allergens.

You shouldn’t have to be an allergy sufferer throughout the whole fall season. Regular chiropractic care and massage can enhance your body’s ability to fight off allergens and keep your symptoms at bay.

5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter

With so much to look forward to during the winter, from holidays with family to outdoor activities, like skiing and snowboarding, the last thing you want is to be stuck in bed with a cold. And while there’s no magic solution to keep you protected from illness, making sure your diet, exercise, and other daily habits align can keep you healthy and present this winter.

Here are five easy ways to stay healthy this winter based on our holistic chiropractic care method:

1. Wash Your Hands & Mask Up

Every day, you come in contact with millions of germs on various surfaces, so we can’t overstate the importance of washing your hands frequently and thoroughly for 20 seconds with soap and warm water. Keep hand sanitizer nearby for those times when you’re not able to wash up properly.

And don’t forget your mask! Not only do face coverings keep you protected, but they also help those around you by containing your germs, especially because you never know when you may be coming down with a cold.

2. Eat & Drink Well

Wintertime is well-known for all its delicious holiday meals. It’s completely acceptable to indulge on these special occasions. However, you should try to maintain balance by eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and lean meats when you’re not at a social gathering. These foods contain zinc and antioxidant-rich vitamins C, D, A, and E to support your immune system and keep you energized.

You should also ensure that you’re drinking at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water each day. Water keeps your body functioning properly and helps flush out toxins that could make you feel ill. Keep a water bottle handy, so you can be sure you always have it when you need it.

3. Keep Active

Although the cooler temps make you want to cozy up on the couch, try to remain active, whether through daily walks, exercise videos in the family room, or a workout at the gym. Exercise not only decreases stress and anxiety, both of which reduce your ability to fight off infection, but all the deep breathing also opens your airways to clear the lungs of harmful bacteria.

4. Get Enough Rest

Sleep gives your body time to recharge and repair itself. During your slumber, you produce compounds that fight off infection and lower inflammation. Despite the late-night cooking, shopping, and wrapping that is common during this time of year, you should still aim for at least 7 hours each night.

Are you experiencing trouble sleeping due to pain or stress? Address the cause of your pain- or stress-induced insomnia with chiropractic care and massage. Spinal adjustments can offer continued pain relief, and massage therapy encourages relaxation, which can make getting to sleep even easier in the days following your session.

5. Stay Relaxed & Aligned with Chiropractic & Massage

Chiropractic care is a holistic treatment option that includes all the aspects mentioned above, as well as hands-on treatments like adjustments. When your spine is out of alignment, your brain cannot properly communicate with the rest of your body, and the immune system is compromised. By restoring alignment and removing pressure off of the nerves, chiropractic care optimizes communication between the brain and body.

Likewise, chronic pain puts your body in a constant fight-or-flight state, which means it can’t focus on stopping infection. By addressing your discomfort, chiropractic care and massage allow your body to focus all its energy and resources on healing.

Plus, massage therapy can increase blood circulation and stimulate the lymphatic system, which carries white blood cells and other elements that fight off infection. The techniques used during massage also release tension and toxins that may be causing you to feel ill (just be sure to flush them out with lots of water after your appointment). Our massage therapists in Bend are the best for helping you to relax as well as relieving muscle tension and pain.

Staying healthy this winter boils down to making sure your body is functioning at its best and able to fight off illness quickly and effectively. Visit the best chiropractors in Bend, Total Body Chiropractic & Massage, for a wellness check-up to ensure your body is aligned and ready to keep you on your feet this season.

Health Effects of Sitting at a Desk

With the transition to a more technology-driven world and people working from home these days at makeshift desks, it’s no surprise that more than 80 percent of Americans have sedentary desk jobs. And while this may seem like a safe line of work, desk jobs where you sit for more than 6 hours a day actually increase your risk of death by 40% more than those who sit for less than 3 hours a day. Fortunately, getting active during the day as well as supporting your body through chiropractic care, dynamic stretching and an ergonomic setup can help you stay healthy and comfortable despite your work conditions.

How does sitting at a desk affect your body?

Depending on your posture, desk setup and daily habits, you can shift your alignment and experience a range of symptoms connected to your work.

Neck Pain

Hunching over a keyboard can put your neck in an awkward position and place unnatural stress on your spinal column. In turn, you can worsen your posture by overcompensating for the neck pain you’re experiencing.

Carpal Tunnel

Characterized by numbness, tingling and inflammation in the arms and hands, carpal tunnel is an extremely common injury among desk workers. This condition is directly caused by a pinched nerve in the wrist but can be linked to the repetitive motion of typing or navigating a mouse.

Back Pain

Sitting almost immediately disengages the muscles that support your body, which makes you more susceptible to shifting vertebrae, misalignments, and subsequent back pain. Slouching in an unsupportive chair or leaning forward puts extra strain on your back and can result in spinal disc compression or herniation, which causes radial nerve pain a number of other seemingly unrelated symptoms.

Seemingly Unrelated Symptoms

You may not even feel the effects of sitting in your back, neck or shoulders. Instead, you may experience symptoms like headaches, sinus pressure, tingling in your extremities, and exacerbated allergies that your chiropractor in Bend will trace back to your spinal column.

Chiropractic Care for Sedentary Workers

You may think you have your pain under control with over-the-counter medicines; however, it will not truly go away until you address the direct problem. That’s where chiropractic care and massage therapy come into play. These treatment options manually shift your body into alignment and provide almost instant relief in multiple ways:

Realigning the Vertebrae

Your chiropractor will work their way from your feet to your head to help you get back into proper alignment. These adjustments remove pressure on nerves and compressed vertebrae to deliver results as early as your first visit.

Relaxing Tense Muscles

After weeks, months or even years of desk work, you are likely holding tension in areas like your shoulders and lower back. Massage therapy focuses on myofascial trigger points, also known as “knots,” to manually encourage your muscle groups to relax and relieve tightness.

Tailored At-Home Exercises

In some instances, your muscles may be too weak to support the appropriate posture. If that is the case, your Bend Total Body Chiropractor will give you daily exercises that can help strengthen these muscles and give you relief after a day of sitting.

What You Can Do to Avoid Injury:

While some pain is inevitable with a sedentary job, there are steps you can take to ease the effects on your health and body.

• Take 1- to 2-minute breaks every 30 minutes to an hour to stretch, walk around and reengage your back, core and leg muscles.
• Keep your head, neck and torso in line – avoid leaning forward or slumping backward in your chair.
• Check in every few minutes to be sure your shoulders are relaxed down away from your ears.
• Adjust the middle of your monitor to be level with your eyes to prevent neck strain.
• Support your body with an ergonomic chair – one that will cradle your lower back, keep your arms at a 90-degree angle, allow you to keep your hips in line with your knees, and place your feet flat on the floor.
• Use wrist supports and type gently to avoid putting pressure on your wrists and hands.

Working a desk job is not an automatic detriment to your health if you take the necessary precautions to support your body. Coupled with massage therapy, chiropractic care can ensure you do not have extended pressure on your spine and help you feel relaxed despite the stress of pressing deadlines. Schedule a visit with us today to start feeling your best.

How Chiropractic Care Can Ease Your Stress

Whether from financial worry, grief or a heightened fear of the unknown, the coronavirus pandemic has affected us all with more stress than even a few months ago. Fortunately, a blend of chiropractic care and other relaxation techniques may help relieve the physical and mental effects of COVID-related stress on your mind and body.

Common Symptoms of Stress

As humans, we feel some form of stress everyday – it’s normal. This bodily response protects us from danger, both real and perceived. Situations like driving, school and work deadlines, and yes, a global pandemic can all cause you to feel threatened.

When your brain senses harm, it responds by signaling the endocrine system to release cortisol and adrenaline which initiates your “fight or flight” response. In turn, your muscles contract, your breath quickens and your heart rate increases. However, these hormone levels should fall once the situation resolves.

Unfortunately, ongoing situations like the pandemic make it hard for your body to stabilize, leading to chronic stress. You may not even notice that you are feeling anxious, but certain symptoms can signal that your body and mind are reacting to your circumstances:

• Muscle tension and pain
• Trouble sleeping
• Decreased immunity
• Shallow breathing
• Increased irritability
• Depression
• Digestive issues
• Weight gain
• Heart troubles

Regardless of your specific symptoms, the effects of stress on the body can be detrimental to your health, increasing your risk for heart attack, stroke and diabetes.

Chiropractic Care for Chronic Stress

While it is inevitable to feel worried by the constant stream of news and developments, dealing with chronic stress will only worsen the situation in the long run. So, finding ways to relax is essential to your overall health.

Chiropractic care not only addresses the physical signs of anxiety like muscle tightness but may also soothe some of the mental symptoms in a few ways.

Physically relaxing the muscles

As mentioned, muscle contraction is one key part of the body’s stress response. However, in long-term cases, the muscles may not relax as they should which leads to tension and pain. This pain can make you more irritable, affect your posture, impact your sleep and more.

Your chiropractor will manipulate these areas of tension to relax your muscles and give your body a sense of relief.

Encouraging mental relaxation

When your body is in alignment, so follows your mind. By addressing your physical pain and making you more comfortable, chiropractic care may inadvertently make you happier and more at ease.

Improving your nervous system function

Subluxations, or misalignments in the spine, can negatively impact the way your brain communicates with the rest of your body. This affects the way you breathe, how quickly your body resolves the stress response and even your sleep patterns. Through spinal adjustments, your chiropractor can optimize your body’s functions, allowing you to feel more balanced and relaxed.

Additional ways to relieve stress:

Although chiropractic sessions can help you feel more relaxed in the days following your visit, you should continue to implement stress-relieving techniques. Here are a few additional activities to help you unwind:

• Journaling
• Yoga & meditation
• Breathing exercises
• Cooking
• Reading
• Biking
• Hiking
• Walking

With everything happening around the world, it is easy to feel worried right now. But without a definitive solution on the horizon, it’s necessary to find a way to keep your stress levels at bay for the sake of your health. With help from us at Total Body Chiropractic & Massage, you can start feeling more relaxed as early as your first visit. And our team will also recommend ways to maintain a calm mental state when you’re not on the table. As always, we are committed to helping the community get through this pandemic in a healthy and safe way.

Try Myofascial Release Massage To Ease Pain

Over time, we grow accustomed to the dull, aching pain in various muscles and joints, chalking it up to sleeping wrong or getting older. But in some instances, this radiating discomfort may actually stem from trigger points or “muscle knots” in the myofascial tissue. Learning the common causes of myofascial pain as well as your non-invasive treatment options can help you find effective relief.

Understanding the Myofascial Tissue

To understand myofascial release therapy, you must first become familiar with the fascia, or myofascial tissue. Fascia is the web-like connective membrane that supports and surrounds muscles, bones and other soft tissue structures throughout the body.

Ideally, the fascia should remain flexible and elastic to allow joints and muscles to move freely. However, certain areas can become stiff and fixed, forming trigger points that put stress on the underlying muscles and joints.

Imagine the fascia as shoelaces – tied too tightly, they restrict the foot, potentially causing pain and numbness.

What is Myofascial Release Therapy?

Myofascial release therapy focuses on loosening tension and tightness in trigger points, which is why it is sometimes referred to as myofascial trigger point release therapy. While myofascial therapy style varies from provider to provider, two universal methods deliver the associated benefits: soft tissue manipulation and stretching.

Your therapist begins by massaging your body to feel for tight knots and manually works out kinks. Soft tissue manipulation involves applying sustained, gentle pressure to trigger points until the area relaxes. Stretching the muscles also helps to release restrictions within the fascia and restore mobility.

Uses for Myofascial Release Therapy

Trigger points can develop due to different injuries like car accidents and falls. But more commonly, these knots form gradually as a result of posture misalignments, inflammation, and nerve compression.

Oftentimes, myofascial release is used as a treatment option for conditions such as chronic headaches, temporomandibular joint disorder (TMJ) and carpal tunnel syndrome. In the case of migraine, the massage therapist manipulates muscles in the neck and head to alleviate pain. Likewise, this form of therapy may also ease symptoms of back, neck, shoulder and other chronic pain by relieving pinched nerves, easing inflammation and maneuvering herniated discs.

Benefits of Myofascial Release

The process of relaxing contracted muscles provides almost immediate relief to some areas of discomfort. Because trigger points can cause radiating pain, myofascial release works to address larger muscle groups as compared to more targeted treatment options.

Through combined manipulation and stretching techniques, you may experience several benefits:

• Improved blood and lymph circulation
• Increased flexibility
• Better range of motion in the joints
• Muscle relaxation
• Decreased pain
• Less inflammation

Implementing a regular massage routine can help maintain the results of your myofascial release session and improve your health over time.

If you feel ongoing pain in large muscle groups, you should talk with a massage therapist about myofascial release therapy as a remedy. While you may not be able to pinpoint the cause of your pain, the trained professionals at Total Body Chiropractic and Massage will assess your body and find the necessary trigger points to bring you comfort and relaxation. In addition to myofascial release massage, Total Body chiropractors Bari Liebowitz and Dan Rhodes can also perform myofascial release using the Graston tools.