POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Puget Sound Chiropractors Fight PTSD

By Annmarie Huppert

Have you ever cut your finger only to find that it has healed itself after a few days? That is your amazing body at work keeping you healthy. And guess what? Your body can do the same thing to heal your mind. This is how it works. Your brain sends “healing” signals down your spine to the rest of your body telling the cells in your body to be healthy. If your spine is pinched in certain areas, the signal to heal can’t get through! Going to a chiropractor can help keep your spine straight, so the signal to heal can get through fast!

Spinal adjustments performed by a chiropractor correct misalignments in the bones of the spine. These misalignments, called subluxations, can create pressure on and irritation of spinal nerves resulting in an interruption of nerve energy and a myriad of symptoms throughout your body. According to Dr. John Duppenthaler at Maritime Chiropractic, “New studies are telling us that it doesn’t require misalignments to create an interruption of nerve functioning. A spine with limited motion or a locked structure can create nerve interference too.” Symptoms like numbness, soreness, weakness or localized pain including headaches could be signs of subluxation. By receiving adjustments, you can restore your body to its natural state of health, which for PTSD survivors means clearing the pathways your mind uses to heal itself.

Two things that can cause subluxation are physical traumas and emotional stress. Dr. Duppenthaler says, “We’ve seen people in our office who have experienced extreme emotional stress and their spine resembles the spine of someone who has suffered a physical trauma to their body.” Since, the primary muscles in your back hold and anchor your spinal bones in their proper position, chronic tension in these important muscles can pull your spine out of alignment or simply create nerve interference. PTSD survivors struggle on a daily basis with the emotional burden of existing in their environment which causes body armoring – a cycle of tension resembling a locked muscle structure.

For this reason alone, if you are a PTSD survivor, you would benefit from investigating the possibility of chiropractic care. However, if your traumatic event also included a physical assault or other trauma to the body, you definitely want to see what your local chiropractor can do for you. “I want people to understand that their normal state of being is one of great vitality, and my goal is to simply remove the interference, to restore motion and fluidity to the spine,” remarks Dr. Duppenthaler. “Seeing a chiropractor regularly can break the tension cycle.”