Dr. Slava Shut

We’ve learned that stress can be more than an uncomfortable feeling. It can be a symptom of an imbalance somewhere else. While we can learn to deal with stressful situations through practice and focus over time, it’s just as important to find the source.

Welcome to Topic Tuesday, where we go into detail about something specifically related to business, health, or life in general. Today, we’re going to look at some of the effects of stress, and the total lack of it, over time.

Using Stress To Your Advantage

First of all, let’s be clear that unmanaged stress that’s causing damage to your body, your finances, or your family is always bad. 

But managed stress can be more of a motivator than a destroyer.  Stressors in the environment can lead to long term optimizations. I have lots of clients on many different points in their recovery journeys. At some point during their rehabilitation, they’re going to have to make a choice to endure some physical stress – to get stronger.

Muscle Atrophy

Muscle atrophy is the shrinking of a muscle. As the muscle gets smaller, it becomes weaker and less flexible. It’s important to remember that your musculoskeletal system is a very specialized structure that requires balance to function properly. All of the muscles, bones and joints must work together seamlessly.

Atrophy almost always causes other muscles to fall out of balance. It’s common in physical therapy to have patients with different levels of atrophy.

This is because major injuries very often lead to muscle atrophy. Recovering from some things, like bone fractures and muscle tears, will require extended periods of immobility. In this case, the body has endured too much physical stress. You can’t walk on a broken leg, and if you try, the added stress will almost certainly make the damage worse. 

So instead, you rest.

But the muscles in the legs won’t get the same amount of stimulation if the person they’re attached to has to stay in bed for weeks because one of them is broken. 

Motivation

Stressing the muscles with progressive overload has been proven to reduce atrophy and induce hypertrophy. With the ride training regiment, so many patients and clients of mine have completely changed their bodies. It takes a certain level of physical stress to make yourself more fit.

A little bit of stress in life can also push you to achieve more in other areas. If you’re already fairly content, but you know that there’s more out there for you, the thought can be a little stressful. In fact, it should be just stressful enough to spur you to do something about it.

The right kind of stress can actually be a good thing. It can motivate you to improve at something. 

Of the thousands of athletes from all different backgrounds that I’ve treated, they all shared something in common:

every one of them was motivated to succeed against other competitors. No matter if they’re a Super Bowl quarterback or an equestrian, each is willing to endure escalating levels of stress in their careers to achieve long term goals.

Stress can be helpful in certain circumstances, but it’s also known to carry serious consequences for the body and mind if it’s not sustainably managed. Stress can lead to hypertension, obesity, and heart disease. 

Are you suffering from the wrong kind of stress?

We can help you find relief through physical therapy. It’s amazing how our bodies and minds are linked. If you’re ready to be able to relax and be yourself again, relief could be a click away. 
Contact my team to schedule an appointment with me today!