Reduce stress

We all wear many hats in our busy lives. Whether you work or stay home, have children or don’t, own a business or work for someone else, if you’re human, you have stress. Period. It’s an unavoidable part of life. And while you may feel the emotional weight of all that stress, the anxiety, depression, and negative thoughts most often associated with it, stress can also take a huge toll on your body.  

When you’re stressed, your central nervous system (CNS) goes into what is often referred to as the “fight or flight” response. Your body releases adrenaline and cortisol, your eyes dilate, your heart beats faster and your blood pressure increases, your muscles tense and your digestion stops to allow blood to be redistributed to those muscles needed to fight or run for your life. When the perceived threat is gone the CNS will usually act to ease the mind and body, a state often referred to as “rest and digest” because the body calms and functions return to normal. However, chronic, or long-term stress means that signal may not be sent for quite some time, so your body is staying in that state of stress for far too long.  

Maybe you really don’t like your job, and the minute you wake up in the morning you’re already dreading the work day. As you get yourself ready and out the door, the impending day is hanging over you like a dark cloud. Then traffic is rough and you’re on high alert to avoid an accident. Then your day is spent dealing with difficult coworkers, bosses, or customers. When the work day finally ends, you’re exhausted. Not just because of a long day, but because your body has been in this hyper-attentive, stressed state since you opened your eyes.  

Whatever your stress looks like, the physiological toll of it can be immense. The associated muscular tension can lead to widespread pain, headaches, and even make you more prone to injury. The regular increases in blood pressure can put strain on your heart and blood vessels leading to an increased risk of hypertension and even heart attack and stroke. The changes in digestion that occur during this fight or flight response can lead to nausea, constipation, acid reflux, and even increase your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes. 

Clearly the affects stress has on your body go deeper than the eyes can see. If you truly want to tackle this worthy opponent, you need to take it one step at a time and realize different techniques work for different people, so take the time to figure out what works best for you. Here’s a few tips to get you started: 

Exercise & Movement – When your body gets moving and your blood gets pumping, it releases all kinds of feel-good hormones that ease mental and physiological stress. You don’t have to hit the gym for two hours to get the benefit. Even just a brief walk or a few minutes of stretching can make a big difference for your mind and body. 

Yoga – Don’t worry, you don’t have to have the perfect poses to get the benefits of yoga. The slow, controlled movements and breathing exercises will help you to relax and focus your mind which will help reduce stress levels.  

Meditation – You don’t need to be a master of mindfulness to meditate or to see the benefits of it. Whether you take just 2 minutes or an entire hour is up to you. Regardless, taking the time to close your eyes, breathe slowly, and allow your mind to focus on something other than the things you usually stress about, will ease a lot of that mental and physical stress. 

Journal – Journaling has been shown over and over again to be highly beneficial in combatting stress. Whether you’re unable to speak your mind, or you just feel overwhelmed, getting it all out in a journal of some sort can allow you to take control of those stressful thoughts and move forward. 

Do something for you – As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. You have to take care of yourself, not just others. That may be 10 minutes a day or an hour or two every week. Whatever you can fit into your schedule, start taking some time to devote solely to something you enjoy. Go for a walk, read a book, dance around to your favorite music, or get a massage! 

While life is inevitably stressful, you don’t have to let that stress take control of your life or lead you to some mental or physical issues. You only get one body in this life. Take care of it! 

(info courtesy of My Massage World)

Ouch! Do I have plantar fasciitis?

Have your ever gotten out of bed first thing in the morning only to feel a sharp pain in your foot when taking your first steps. Sometimes that pain lingers for a while but then goes away after you’ve walked for a bit. If you’ve experienced this scenario, you may have been dealing with Plantar Fasciitis. Plantar fasciitis is when the thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of your foot (plantar fascia), connecting your heel bone to your toes, is inflamed. The pain from plantar fasciitis usually occurs early in the morning with your first steps and trails off as the day progresses, but it can show up when you’ve been standing or sitting for a long period. 

Generally plantar fasciitis will cause a stabbing pain in the bottom of the foot near the heel but can spread through the arch of the foot and toward the toes. Plantar fasciitis is the result of tension and stress on your plantar fascia causing small tears within the tissue. It’s important to note that in many cases of plantar fasciitis, the cause is unknown. Those who are between the ages of 40-60 are at higher risk of experiencing plantar fasciitis, along with those who participate in exercises such as long-distance running, ballistic jumping activities, ballet dancing, and aerobic dance. You may also be at a higher risk if you are flat-footed, have a high arch, walk with an abnormal gait, if you’re overweight, and if you are on your feet for extended periods of time.  

Plantar Fasciitis is generally treated with rest, ice, massage, and stretching the toes up, and exercises to strengthen the bottom of the foot. You may want to talk to your doctor about over the counter anti-inflammatories and pain medications that may help as you begin treatment. You may also be able to pair yourself with a physical therapist that can put together exercises for you to perform to stretch the plantar fascia and Achilles tendon and to strengthen your foot and lower leg muscles. It may be recommended that you wear a night splint created to stretch your calf and the arch of your foot while you sleep, or custom-made arch supports or orthotics, which will help dissipate the pressure placed on your feet with each step. If you have poor results from said treatments, you may need to increase your treatment program. More serious treatments include steroid injections into the area to decrease inflammation, extracorporeal shock wave therapy which is where soundwaves are directed at the area of heel pain to help with healing, and finally surgery, which is rarely needed and used when the pain is severe and all other treatments have failed. While these treatments have been proven to work, they have their downfalls as well. Multiple steroid injections can weaken the plantar fascia resulting in it rupturing, extracorporeal shockwave therapy may cause bruising, swelling, pain, numbness, and tingling, and surgery can result in the weakening of the arch in your foot.  

While many have heard of the term plantar fasciitis, few have heard the term plantar fasciosis. Plantar fasciosis is kind of an umbrella term used for any kind of issue derived from the plantar fascia. However, it’s often used to describe the degeneration of the abductor hallucis (the muscle that moves your big toe out toward midline) due to circulation issues. As opposed to inflammation of the area, plantar fasciosis results in death of the plantar fascia because the tissue isn’t receiving enough blood, and therefore not enough oxygen and nutrients. Since the abductor hallucis is meant to keep the big toe straight and move it toward the midline, if you’re constantly wearing shoes with a narrow toe box, pushing the toes together, or tend to walk on the inside of your foot, this may very well be the cause. Essentially what’s happening is the abductor hallucis is stretched beyond its normal capacity over time and that tightness of the muscle puts pressure on the underlying blood vessel that supplies the plantar fascia, effectively cutting off the blood supply and causing deterioration and tissue death of part of the plantar fascia.  

The really interesting thing about this is that the exercise and treatment protocols that help plantar fasciitis may not help plantar fasciosis at all, and in some cases may even make it worse. Plantar fasciitis is often helped with rest, ice, and stretching the toes up and out to the side. But if plantar fasciosis is the real problem, these are the opposite of what will help. Instead, for plantar fasciosis, flexion of the toes, abduction of the big toe, and heat are more likely to address the real issue. 

When experiencing any pain within the foot and heel area, it is imperative that you see your doctor as soon as possible so they can properly diagnose and get you on the right treatment plan before more damage can be done. It is also important to make sure that you are wearing shoes that support the natural alignment of your foot.  

(info courtesy of My Massage World)