Struggling with poor health and immobility?

Are you a boiled frog?

Good stress or bad stress. It affects us all. A little stress is great as it can help us get out of dangerous situations or meet deadlines. But too much stress or little bits of stress continuously is bad for us. Sometimes, like the proverbial frog in boiling water, we don't know just how bad our stress is until our bodies just can't take it anymore. We look and feel older, have more aches and pains and suddenly find life overwhelming.

Stress affects us all differently. Sometimes when I ask my clients about their stress levels and they tell me they are not stressed, but their bodies are screaming a different story. So how do you know if you are stressed? You may be stressed if you have several or all of the following symptoms:

Emotional	Cognitive	Physical	Behavioural
Feeling overwhelmed	Loss of ability to think clearly and perform complex tasks	Nervousness, shaking, tinnitus, cold extremities	Avoidance of responsibilities
Easily moody/angry	Constant worrying	Gastrointestinal issues	Procrastination
Feelings of worthlessness	Forgetfulness and disorganisation	Aches, pains, muscular tension	Over eating or Anorexia
Needing to withdraw from life and others	Inability to see the good in life	Dry mouth, jaw clenching, grinding	Nervous tics — pacing, jostling, nail biting
Inability to relax	Loss of concentration	Insomnia and fatigue	Substance Abuse
Outbursts of rage — especially on the road	Poor judgement	Chest pain and arrhythmias	Urge to strike out physically
Frequent need to cry	Racing thoughts	Frequent infection	Loss of libido

You can beat chronic stress before you become a thoroughly cooked frog. How?

• Get adjusted regularly — chiropractic is clinically proven to reduce pain, increase immune function and reduce stress by acting on stress centers in the brain and by releasing tension on the sympathetic nerves housed along the spine.
• Take a Daily Anti Stress formulation — Prime 1 by Prime Quest is available at the practice.
• Supplement B vitamins frequently and even more in times of high stress.
• MOVE! Find an activity you enjoy and do it.
• Eat as clean as possible.
• Practice Smart Hydration — frequent sipping of 30mls per kg of body weight every 24 hours. Occasionally add some salt to your water (about half a teaspoon in 1l) to help your body use the water you are giving it.

Chiropractic is a health care profession that specialises in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disorders of the musculoskeletal system and the effects of such disorders on the nervous system and general health. (CASA Website)

This means that anyone will benefit from Chiropractic treatment regardless of their existing state of health. Treatment can be tailored to suit everyone from the newest baby to the oldest grandparent. Whilst physical pain in its various forms is the most frequent presenting complaint of most clients seeking chiropractic care in South Africa you do not have to be in pain to see a Chiropractor.

Although it is over a century old as a profession, the science behind Chiropractic is relatively new and is improving year by year. There is a powerful swing towards evidence-based practice to create the best health outcome for each client. Chiropractic is efficacious in the treatment of many types of headache and headache syndromes; whiplash; disc herniation; neck, mid-back and low-back pain due to a variety of causes; myofascial pain and dysfunction; the ever popular pinched nerve; and a host of other joint related disorders and injuries. Some neuromuscularskeletal issues require a multidisciplinary approach. Bridget is happy to refer out or work with a client's existing specialists where it is in the best interests of the client.

Bridget has been passionate about Chiropractic since she was introduced to its healing capabilities in 1995. She holds a compassionate, intuitive space for the whole client. Since physical pain is often locked into the body by our unique beliefs about ourselves and how we relate to the world and by our emotional responses to life, each session is client-centred and client-directed and focusses on the whole client rather than just on the presentation of the physical body. Bridget offers her clients the space and tools needed to heal spiritually, emotionally and physically. She offers her clients space to be as they are without judgement or criticism.