Times are stressful and uncertain.  One thing you can be certain of is that we have your best interest at heart and are here to support you in your ambitions for better health and a pain-free life.  From now until 2021 enjoy a steep discount on services.   Whether it is one session or 20 they will be $50/session and have no expiration :)

IT'S NEVER too late to become A healthier and stronger VERSION OF YOURSELF

Stress management (SM) is probably the most overlooked piece of the health puzzle. It ranks right up there with stretching and mobility days. People hate leg day because of the extra cardiovascular effort required, but people still suffer through it because we cannot have the "big upper/small lower" look.  But what are the consequences of skipping diaphragmatic breathing and other stress management techniques? We gradually gain or lose weight, get tight shoulders, get fuzzy eyesight.  Big deal? Buy bigger clothes, get a massage, get stronger glasses. We compensate.  We allow this into our lives expecting to compensate for years and decades.  Then, one day we have a stroke or heart attack because the stress has led to damaged blood vessels.  A little more serious than going up a size in jeans.  But... that won't happen to us right? Or do we care? If you don't care, then you are not likely to read the rest of this article.  Read on though if you are tired of poor sleep (intentional), weight fluctuation, feeling weak, tight and painful joints, headaches, tight muscles, and a plethora of other symptoms.

Proper stress management is not mainstream and "sexy".  It is therefore usually overshadowed by the plethora of fad programs for diet and exercise. These programs are designed to make people a lot of money, so they dump a lot of money into marketing to make it "the next best thing".  We cannot manufacture good SM into a pill, support it with hokey "research", and market it for profit.  So, it does not get its well-deserved time in the lime-light and while fad programs are heavily market into our lives.  These other programs and products do not typically address SM, then, when lack of expected results occurs, it results in stress, which in turn will usurp positive change.

A vicious circle is then created involving years of disappointment. I meet numerous people who demonstrate this scenario, and it carries this tune: “I cannot lose weight or gain muscle and I’m so stressed over it!” As you can imagine my response echoes as follows: “well, the first step is to relax, and manage the stress you are allowing – then your body will allow positive changes to happen.”  This is easier said than done however based on the chronicity of the stress.  Just like pain - the longer it is allowed in your life, the more difficult the treatment plan/longer it takes to treat it.

My job is stressful, my relationship is stressful, school is stressful, traffic is stressful, reading this article is stressful and we cannot do much about it? Let us consider 1) The stressor, 2) Intensity of stress, and 3) Duration of the stress. 

1) So, what is stressing you? Recognition and identification is an important first step.  At any given time, there is something giving us angst, we just tend to be good at suppressing it or trying to cover it up.  Is it a stress we can modify somehow? If we know traffic is a problem at 9AM can we leave for work earlier such to avoid traffic? Can we somehow avoid the annoying coworker (Harsh, but true)? Identify the stress causing your tension and desire to take alcohol shots at lunch, devise a plan to modify it, and have confidence as you follow your plan.  If finances are a stressor and you don't have a plan, seek counsel (try www.benedettifinancial.com). If poor health is stressing you and you don't know how to take control of it, seek counsel (Proactivealliance.com - just saying). If you cannot modify the stress, then have a plan for modifying YOUR response to it.  (see below).

2 & 3) Intensity and Duration.  Small doses of stress can help us focus, concentrate, and even help us use extra muscle for survival.  It is essential! It becomes detrimental however when it lasts for hours.  If you are walking in the woods and something rustles the leaves - it is a bear! Our stress amps up and we sprint to safety (hypothetical).  We can feel good about that, pumped up, and like we achieved something. What if now we must run for hours away from a stressor.  Constant stress and strain.  This is not how the system was designed.  Instead of just one deadline at work we are given several that we are trying to juggle, and it stresses us for days - even at night!  This is now fatiguing our system as a whole and will take prolonged time to recover.

Why does this matter - really?

I’m going to start with listing some of the many benefits of internally managing your stress levels

1) Better weight management

2) Better sleep quality

3) Enhanced muscle-to-fat ratio

4) Greater chance of meeting goals and more productive

5) Prevention and mitigation of disease processes such as in hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, etc

6) Improved concentration

Still think SM isn't worthwhile? Have you ever stress-eaten anything? Skipped the workout to sleep-in? Yelled (exploded) on family and/or children to "take stress out on them"? Had to go for a run or drive in order to "burn off the stress"? Ever had to drink alcohol to compensate for a stressful day/week/month/year (2020 anyone???)? These are mal-adaptive behaviors and destructive habits that will lead to poor health. (Manage your stress BEFORE you train/exercise/etc and not to treat stress.)

How can you prevent stress from undermining your health? If you allow stress to eat away at you just because you do not have the health you desire, it is like allowing someone to take your money while you sit and stress over being poor. You are not only doing nothing about it, but you are allowing it to get worse because you are announcing free money to the world. When I say “doing nothing about it” I am referring to allowing the theft of your money, or, your health.  All stress is not bad, small spurts of stress elevates testosterone and greatly improves muscular force and production. It is when we have stress over hours, and even days, that the adrenal system in our body becomes fatigued, and cortisol levels stay elevated for great lengths of time versus briefly, as it would be following a stressful event. Although brief spurts of cortisol can have healthful benefits, and is necessary, there are some detrimental effects of prolonged elevation of cortisol.

1) Weakened immune system

2) Stimulation of gluconeogenesis (production of blood sugar)

3) Subsequent elevation of blood sugar levels, which in turn elevates insulin, and stimulation of fat storage

4) Blocking of the hippocampus, the region of the brain where memories are stored

5) Atrophy, or shrinking, of the brain via reduced circulation and blood flow

6) Stimulation of grehlin and other pathways that lead to “stress” or “emotional” eating binges

Signs of poor Stress Management:

1) Lack of adequate sleep, or inability to sleep soundly

2) Fatigue

3) Weakened immune response leading to frequent infection, colds, flu, etc

4) Malaise (weakness or feeling unwell overall with no apparent cause)

Stress management to achieve long-term success can involve several strategies and an in-depth discussion with your health professional, but please respond if you would like to discuss with me, Dr. Jacob Hamrick, PT, DPT.

Strategies include:

1) Identify and understand the stress.  Recognize it.

2) Can we compartmentalize the stress? Build the castle one domino at a time instead of stressing over how great a task this is.

3) Take a breather. Diaphragmatic breathing is amazingly healing.  Breathe in and allow abdomen to extend, exhale and allow belly to draw in toward spine.

4) Fasting.  Fasting can be from TV, Social Media, Work, Food, Drinks (you know what I mean), and anything else stressful.  Redirect the time into something productive and nurturing such as prayer.

5) Avoid allowing long-term and high intensity stress to build-up.  Take Breaks.

6) Go for a walk

References: Doctor's Book of Home Remedies, Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, Human Physiology: an integrated approach (6th ed), Human Anatomy, http://www.news-medical.net/news/2008/06/24/39395.aspx.

Labels: #health, #stress, #stress management, #weight loss

Historically my consultations are in person so that we can get a very good indea of how services will help prior to any expectation of payment.  I am receptive to any requests for a telephonic consultation such to mitigate any concerns around coronavirus infection. 

So you go into a therapy clinic and get evaluated.  That process involves some subjective information from you, objective information from checking range of motion, strength, etc.  Much of that process is to satisfy insurance obligations and you are not likely to receive much treatment.  Then you go for a follow-up and you find that at some point the therapist is stuck writing a note, again, for insurance requirements.

An evaluation from Dr. Jacob Hamrick, PT, DPT will likely be a breath of fresh air.  We will discuss your goals, concerns, and form a plan that keeps a focus on you.  

So, what exactly-ish is Holistic Therapy? It means you meet with me for a concern.  Lets say foot pain such as plantar fasciitis.  You have had it for years and have already treated it in many ways (chiropractor, medical doctor, acupuncture, gadgets, etc), but nothing has helped.  I will evaluate the entire you as it pertains to what may be the actual CAUSE of the pain.  Perhaps mobility concerns in the foot, ankle, calf, knee, thigh, hips, lumbar spine, or even the mid-back or neck may be causing this pain.  

Here is a scenario that I have come across many times.

• Client presents with foot pain
• Jacob evaluates the foot and leg and discovers no real cause of issue in the leg (insurance would still require we treat the foot)
• Jacob therefore evaluates up the "chain" to discover that there is a history of low back stiffness or pain
• We find that there is sciatic nerve involvement (the nerve behind "Piriformis Syndrome")
• Jacob mobilizes (improves blood flow) the joint in the spine at the origination of the nerve
• This reduces foot pain

But WAIT!!!

• Jacob evaluates the mid back to discover it is the cause of low back stiffness and will plan to mitigate that as well.
• We then evaluate the neck to find poor alignment in the neck.
• So complications in the neck is causing mid-back pain, which is causing low back pathology, which is creating weakness and pain in the leg and foot! 
• What started as neck pain years ago is now creating foot pain.
• THAT'S THE POWER OF HOLISTIC AND FUNCTIONAL THERAPY! 
• Insurance does not give us the freedom of practice to always attempt to discern the true CAUSE of the concern.