Managing the stress in your life — and most of us have it to one degree or another — is essential to keeping a healthy lifestyle.

Stress comes from many directions and makes itself known in a variety of ways. It might show up as a headache, tight muscles, nausea or back pain. It’s generally caused by outside factors, some obvious, like fretting over financial problems, and others not so much, maybe even planning for a joyous occasion like an impending wedding.

But stress is not always a minor problem. It can lead to bigger problems, like high blood pressure and stroke, ulcers and fitful sleeping. Your body reacts to stress by producing adrenaline and noradrenaline, both of which are linked to our fight-or-flight instinct. Nerve cells secrete those substances.

Since your spinal column is critical in the function of the nervous system, chiropractic treatment is effective in helping with stress control. Misaligned vertebrae — called a subluxation in chiropractic parlance — can interfere with the proper operation of the nerves. A subluxation can impede the normal activity of a nerve, like the anti-stress function it performs.

Chiropractors can’t eliminate the stress in your life, but they can make sure your body is in the best position to respond to it. Talk with your chiropractor about stress management.

Presented as a service to the community by: Union County Chiropractic Clinic, 110 Skyline Drive, Maynardville, TN (865) 992-7000 www.unioncountychiropractic.com