Chiropractic Treatment for Stress

C. Physical Damage Associated With Stress

 As modern day stresses mount, medical scientists' concern with the toll taken on human physiology grows. Further, experts in the field have fought and/or argued over the therapeutic value of many of the "unorthodox" treatments people are seeking out to deal with the resulting aches and pains, including acupuncture, chiropractic, and other types of holistic approaches. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of stress on human neurophysiology and how chiropractic treatment practiced, and is related to these effects. Included in the research will be introductory information on both neurophysiology and chiropractic.

"Physiology" is a branch of biology that deals with the functions and activities of life, while "neurophysiology" refers

specifically to the nervous system. This system is the machinery that allows humans to perceive, react, and remember (2:24). Consisting of the brain and spinal cord, the nervous system sends information along the system, transforms it and then sends it on again. How this takes place has always been of great interest to scientists. David H. Hubel, author of Eye, Brain, and Vision, writes:

. . .
cantly alters the spinal pathway" (5:78). But preliminary evidence has shown that chiropractic is more effective than simple massage for cases of acute back pain and that those who do get the help of chiropractors with this type of pain recover more quickly than those who do not (5:78). So how does stress affect both the nervous system and its possible treatment? Studies have suggested that the body contains a special chemical-control system aimed at dealing with pain and stress (4:160). Under conditions of physical or mental stress, the pituitary gland releases a stress-related hormone containing betalipotropin, a substance which modifies the body's response to pain (4:160). "At the level of the spinal cord, enkephalin-producing neurons (amino-acid molecules with pain-killing effects) may block the action of substance P-containing neurons transmitting pain from the brain" (4:160-61). Such research is the outcome of observations of how a person's body responds to inner distress. The results have found that while some people seem to thrive on stress, in excess it can increase susceptibility to disease, particularly mental disorders (4:162). The body's nerves respond to stress by employing a chemical to send "speed up" messa
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Some common words found in the essay are:
David Palmer, School Medicine, Brain Vision, Function Conclusion, American Library, nervous system, York Bantam, Literature Cited, Associated Stress, Houghton Mifflin, Hubel Eye, spinal cord, effects stress, physical damage, chiropractic treatment, stress 1, central nervous system, stress ulcers, eye brain, brain vision, psychological stress, brain spinal cord, eye brain vision,
Approximate Word count = 1453
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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