When patients first come to our office there is a primary complaint that brought them in, for example: headaches, or neck pain. But these symptoms are usually the tip of the iceberg. They may also complain of IBS, not sleeping well, worn out feeling, and it's up to me to dig deeper and be a good investigatior to come up with the answer of why these symptoms are occuring and not going away. Not just treat the symptoms of the condition, but the condition itself.

Stress and fatugue work hand in hand. Acute stress is short term and most people can cope with this as long as it is not ongoing. An example of this would be speaking before a crowd or performing at an athletic event. In this case, acute stress can be helpful to perform better. Chronic stress however, such as structural imbalances we deal with in chiropractic, excessive physical demands placed on an individual, environmental stresses such as being to hot or cold, or not breathing clean air, toxins that we consume or breath as well as psychological pressures such as financial worries, work problems or problems as home can all add up and exceed an individuals ability to cope.

As a result, symptoms of these problems begin to accummulate. As a health care provider, I need to address all of the patient concerns if they are going to get well, and the chiropractic adjustment may only be part of the solution. So usually after the patients first visit to our office is complete, I determine other tests that may be helpful to address the secondary complaints. For example, we have stress questionaires, detoxification questionaires (to assess for heavy metal toxicity), saliva hormone tests, digestive stool analysis tests, hair analysis as well as blood and urine tests to determine if any markers would show up to be able to develop a treatment plan for our patients.

In many ways it is like pealing an onion, only to find something else the deeper you go.

One of the common terms used to describe this tired and achy feeling people get is called adrenal fatigue. The adrenals are triangular shaped glands that sit on top of your kidneys and they release hormones in times of stress. This term is popular in health books and magazines, however it is not a medical diagnosis because there is no test for it. In fact, your adrenal glands can function 20% below average with your body experiencing symptoms of adrenal fatigue, but the ACTH blood test won't recognize it. The important thing is not to get caught up in chasing symptoms. This is not the way to address the issue.

There is hope. Your body can overcome chronic stress and fatugue and feel energized again. A healthy body will handle stress more effectively. Remember fatigue is a warning sign that there may be something more important going on in your system. Getting a thourough blood workup and toxic element testing will help shed light on dietary and lifestyle changes you may need to make.

 I would encourage you, that if you are feeling symptoms of stress and fatugue which can manifest into symptoms of suppressed immune function, digestive disturbance, fibromyalgia and others, call to set up an appointment.

In the meantime, 1) take a good multiple vitamin and mineral supplement, it isn't a cure all, but does help to balance the nutrient density of your diet. 2) Take time to get some rest which helps detoxify and recharges your energy levels. 3) Exercise will help burn off the stress hormones, and you will sleep better at night. 4) Rehydrate with clean filtered water, one quart for 50# of body wieght up to three quarts. 5) Maintain blood sugar levels with a balanced diet by eating every two hours. 6) Avoid caffeine and other stimulants.

As a clinical pearl, one way of identifying adrenal dysfunction is that is you have shallow finger prints and cross creases on your finger prints, there is a correlation between adrenal health and connective tissue quality which is collagen or tissue protein quality. Stress tends to break down the connective tissue also causing wrinkles.

Stressed is Desserts spelled backwards.

Dr. Richard W. Haas DC,FACO