All individuals experience stress; this represents a normal reaction to strains on one’s mind, body, or emotions. However, when people experience particularly acute or extended traumatic experiences that make them feel helpless or unsafe, they can develop a more serious condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Characterized by an array of extended and acute mental, emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms, PTSD is a serious condition that requires intensive therapy to help individuals overcome it. Naprapathy is an emerging treatment that has proven effective in certain populations.
Common Causes and Effects of PTSD
Many people associate PTSD with veterans who have witnessed or partaken in the atrocities of war. While PTSD does affect a large number of war veterans, many other types of events can produce the same responses in affected individuals, including:
- Physical or sexual abuse
- Kidnapping
- Rape
- Natural disasters
- Plane or car crashes
- Terrorist attacks
What these occurrences have in common is that they produce severe (and often sudden) trauma, which leaves individuals feeling as though they have no control over the survival or well-being of themselves and others.
Such events are likely to produce a wide spectrum of emotions, from numbness to anxiety to a feeling of being “crazy.” These are normal feelings that generally decrease over time until the individual has recovered. However, for a small number of people, they don’t improve – they worsen.
How Health Providers Diagnose PTSD
Before visiting a doctor or therapist, many patients have suffered from acute symptoms for several weeks or months. These symptoms include:
- Flashbacks or intrusive memories
- Recurrent nightmares relating to the trauma
- Strong feelings of distress triggered by reminders of the trauma
- Physical symptoms such as sweating, muscle tension, nausea, rapid breathing, or increased heart rate
In addition to these symptoms, PTSD sufferers may present behaviors such as avoiding anything that might remind the individual of the event, memory loss, decreased interest in everyday activities, and a sense of detachment.
When these symptoms occur strongly and over prolonged periods of time, the best way to overcome them is to seek treatment from a qualified medical professional who understands the many causes and effects of the condition.
How Naprapathy Helps Treat PTSD
One emerging method in the treatment of PTSD is naprapathy. Based on the philosophy that all of the body’s biological processes work towards an individual’s survival and wellbeing, naprapathy uses a series of active and passive manual movements to release tension and bring relief to articulations, muscles, and ligaments.
Similar to chiropractic medicine, this relatively new practice differs in that it targets connective tissues rather than bone structure. These “neuro-vascular bundles” radiate from the spinal column, informing the brain of everything the body does and feels.
With the correct application of naprapathic methods, patients with PTSD can experience reduced aches, pains, and stress related to the trauma that triggered them. This treatment is especially effective for veterans, but anyone suffering from symptoms of acute stress can benefit from naprapathy as part of a holistic approach to PTSD treatment.
Suffering from PTSD can make individuals feel hopeless, alone, and afraid, but help is available. By actively engaging with treatments such as naprapathy, patients can gradually gain relief and enjoy life again.
Could naprapathy be the right treatment for PTSD in yourself or a loved one?
