Supporting Your Body Through Seasonal Transitions and Stress

During this shift, levels of not only emotional, but psychological and physical stress can rise. Prepare and support your body through these colder and quotidian months by understanding how this heightened state of stress reflects upon its function, feeling, and healing. And learn the role of Osteopathy in helping to overcome such effects by nurturing the body to continue moving free and strong.

So, what is stress?

Stress can be triggered, felt, and seen in many different ways. Examples include a sudden fright, an important meeting, high-intensity exercise, a busy work schedule, even continued exposure to uncomfortable or unsettling relationships. Although turbulent stress is normal and vital for effective bodily function, the important part is ensuring it doesn’t remain chronically heightened, and that we are able balance it with rest, recovery, and calm.

How is it caused?

From a physiological (biological) point of view, maintained stress trigger sustained activation of the (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal) HPA axis, and the Sympathetic Nervous System. These systems trigger the release of hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, which play a crucial role in immunity, metabolism, homeostasis and of course the bodies stress response. Although important for overall function, if stress sustains and prolongs this exposure to cortisol... the way our bodies feel, and function suffer the fallout.

What happens?

From a physical point of view, prolonged stress in the body will present as broad muscular tension and pain, reduced mobility - particularly in the spinal regions, pelvis, and diaphragm, fatigue, headaches, altered breathing mechanics, increased post-activity, soreness and more.

Why it matters...

All of these changes and effects, result in increased inflammation, slowed recovery, poorer sleep, mood changes and more. Importantly, they also amplify one’s pain sensitivity, reducing the threshold or resilience against physical pain... this begins a vicious cycle where more pain is felt, triggering the bodies stress response, which cycles back to increase pain.

How Osteopathy can help

Osteopathic treatment works in a multitude of ways, reducing tension, improving motion, function, healing, and the settling of the nervous system to hep support a return to calm. Gentle hands-on treatments, combined with tailored movement advice, breath work, and education are all ways in which osteopathy can support this shift.

Nurturing the body’s natural ability to self-regulate, recover, and flourish.