This morning I was discussing with one of my patients just how adaptable the human body is to stress. As I always say, this is a good thing cause if we didn’t adapt to stress (be it physical, chemical or emotional) we would all be either laid up in bed or dead! In neurology we call this process of adaptability “plasticity”. It is the ability of the nervous system, and the entire body, to change. This is why, when a Microsoft employee sits at the computer all day, they have a stiff neck at night. The body literally changes, like a piece of plastic, to the position that the person is sitting in.
Now these changes due to stress do not happen over night. Some take years and years to happen, but I can assure you, if the bones of the spine loose their normal position this will cause problems. Problems such as headaches, stiff and painful neck, sinus pain, jaw pain, etc… can all be the result of this process called plasticity. The good news is that the plastic nature of the body can also be a good thing! I work with plasticity of the human body every single day. As I am helping my patients regain the normal position of their spines, we are making changes in a positive direction.
The important thing to look at if plasticity has taken place in your body. Odds are, if you work in Bellevue at a computer you have developed what I call Bellevue Neck. If you have neck pain or stiffness by the end of the day, or have chronic headaches you have developed plasticity in your system and need to find a Bellevue chiropractor. A chiropractor can help to reverse the damage that has taken place and help to regain the normal positioning of your body.
The other sure indicator that this process had occurred is if you have ever been in a car accident. Car accidents deform the structures of the body making them more susceptible to this happening. Again if you have ever been in a car accident please consult a chiropractor to assess if you are a candidate for care.
Do not let the process of plasticity create disease in your body. Talk to a chiropractor today to reverse the damage done and find ways to prevent it in the future.
