The Medical News Today magazine calls stress “the feeling we have when under pressure. It can either be good or bad”. So, as much as we agree to this line, we also have to agree that our daily life is stuck in a repetitive circle containing what we call as stressors – elements that trigger stress. Thus, no matter what we do, being stressed out has become a certainty. The interesting point here is that we can control it. And one of the easiest ways to do so is through physiotherapy. Unlike other hardcore machine bearing exercises, you can do physiotherapy at home using small equipment as well.
So, what exactly is physiotherapy?
“Physiotherapy is the treatment of disease, injury or deformity by physical methods such as massage and heat treatment rather than drugs or surgery” (Source: Oxford Dictionary). In simpler terms, physiotherapy is actually a way to treat orthopedic conditions to help patients recover using exercises and specially designed equipment. The person who performs the physiotherapy on you is called a physiotherapist.
How are stress and physiotherapy related?
During extreme stressful times, your body releases hormones called “adrenaline” and “noradrenaline” which heighten your senses and generate response signals to the stressors. When these are continued to be released for a longer duration, chronic stress starts forming and “cortisol” hormones are released. These are steroid hormones which are harmful to the human body.
A body running on steroids can cause a lot of diseases and health issues like muscle tightness, arthritis, fatigue, inflammation, and the likes. Physical therapy treatment is much needed for such scenarios as drugs can also cause side effects.
How can physiotherapy help in relieving stress?
Since your hectic day to day routine can leave you with precious little time to visit a physiotherapy clinic, why not get the same done at your home instead? A physiotherapist home visit will give the same results and you can enjoy the benefits of a relaxing and helpful physical therapy session in the comfort of your home. The way physiotherapy helps in comforting stress are:
Quality Sleep: Believe it or not, one of the key reasons for us to feel stressed most of the time is the lack of proper sleep. A physiotherapist will teach you how to sit or sleep in the correct posture along with certain relaxation techniques. Implementing all of these will help you to sleep in peace.
Physiotherapy as an antidepressant: If you call up any clinic that offers physiotherapy near you they will tell you that physical therapy treats depression as well. Many a time, the stress that we encounter on a daily basis can lead to rejections or outcomes that are not in our favour. This can cause depression. A proper physiotherapy session can help you to calm your nerves and show the way to get rid of worries.
Lowering the cortisol levels: As mentioned earlier, too much of stress releases a steroid hormone named “cortisol” in our bodies. Whenever you go through the physiotherapy session, you will notice that diaphragmatic breathing is a daily therapy routine. The National Centre of Biotechnology Information states that diaphragmatic breathing significantly lowers the cortisol levels as it improves concentration.
The stress in our lives can lead to a lot of health issues, which if not addressed in time, can prove to be life-threatening in the long run.