Hello Flourishing Friends,
Since the beginning, I have been more than just a "crack-and-go" chiropractor. I have always taken a holistic approach and taken specific interest in how stress impacts the tension patterns in your body. I understand the potential of chiropractic to bring so much more to your lives. It is my continual mission to help people seek Eudaimonia: a contented state of being happy, healthy and prosperous.
However, since I am not always helping patients with pain, it can be difficult to measure progress at times. How do you measure what dis-ease has been prevented? How do you measure how the relationship with your body has changed? How do you quantify how connected you are to yourself?
Well, I am so excited to share that we do have a way of measuring Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) health. Our ANS is a primitive part of the nervous system and the ruler of your body's ability to adapt. We can measure the health of this system with Heart Rate Variability.
HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by the ANS. Your brain is constantly processing information and the ANS sends signals to the rest of the body on how to respond; either to stimulate or to relax different functions. If your ANS is out of balance, you won't have as much variability in your responses to the environment, which shows that you aren't adapting as optimally as possible.
HRV is an interesting and noninvasive way to identify ANS imbalances. The healthier the ANS, the faster you are able to switch gears, showing more resilience and flexibility.
Over the past few decades, research has shown a relationship between low HRV and worsening mental and physical health, while people who have a high HRV may have greater cardiovascular fitness and be more resilient to stress.
I am so excited to begin tracking HRV with you in the office. It will be a great outcome measure to see how chiropractic care is affecting your nervous system, even though sometimes it can be hard to quantify in other ways.
You can even download the app, so you can also monitor your progress outside of the office.
I am really looking forward to facilitating even more connection, adaptation and optimization in your life.
Take care,
Dr. Evelyn
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