Anxiety and/or depression affects people of all ages and may occur occasionally, frequently, or consistently. Anxiety symptoms can be transient (only occurring at one stage of your life) or can represent a specific condition such as a depressive or a panic disorder.
Panic disorders are characterized by attacks of anxiety and/or overwhelming fear which is known as a panic attack. During panic attacks, you might feel a pound or racing heart, breathing issues, dizziness, weakness, chills, and nausea. You also may feel like you are not in control and may feel the life is just too much.
Chiropractic care has a specific role to play in the management of panic attacks. Spinal biomechanical dysfunction and spinal nerve irritation may have a role to play in the causation of panic attacks. Dysfunction and irritation can heighten physiological stress and trigger feelings of anxiety. In other words, your body is on high alert because of internal biomechanical stress and neurophysiological irritation, then when you add in emotional or environmental triggers can make your body quickly shift to panic mode.
Getting chiropractic care regularly can help you to avoid the symptoms of a panic attack and anxiety by allowing you to detect, analyze, and correct the sources of spinal biomechanical dysfunction and spinal nerve irritation. By reducing the baseline levels of internal physiological stress and restoring improved function, chiropractic care can help to mediate your response to anxiety-inducing triggers. Chiropractic care helps to alleviate muscular tension and pain. Chiropractic care can improve your cardiorespiratory, gastrointestinal, immune, and hormonal systems. Regular chiropractic care can help you achieve higher levels of health as well as reduce the severity and frequency of panic attacks. To optimize your health, you should combine regular chiropractic care with a healthy diet, regular exercise, as well as a proper amount of sleep.
Metzler DH, et al: Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care. Prim Care 43(2):245-261, 2016
Locke AB, et al: Diagnosis and management of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults. Am Fam Physician 91(9):617-624, 2015
Williams JW Jr, et al: An Overview of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies for Anxiety and Depressive Disorders: Supplement to Efficacy of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Therapies for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Washington, DC: Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Evidence-based Synthesis Program Reports, 2011