Could hemorrhoids, insomnia, and back pain all be connected? Yes!

All three of these symptoms are very common effects of poor adaptation to stress. Essentially, they are normal symptoms the body gives off when its health is being compromised. Think of them as alarms, not the problem itself.

I recently had a member of our practice ask me if it was possible that his hemorrhoids could have cleared up because he was getting adjusted to help his low back and insomnia issues. We had never spoken of his hemorrhoids before, as he did not think they could be related to the nerves affecting his back and sleep issues.

I explained to him that while there are other causes to hemorrhoids, like poor nutrition, many times people will notice the symptom after a very stressful period in life, like a move to a new city, a marital issue, getting let go at work, etc.

The body is very intelligent in its own way, ready to alarm us that our bodies are weak because of poor adaptation to stress. The symptoms may come in the form of low energy, poor sleep, low back or neck pain, headaches, and so on.  Hemorrhoids are no different. The increase in stress from either chemical, physical, or emotional avenues will elevate what is called vagal tone.

The vagus nerve is one of our 12 cranial nerves, which are found in the brain stem. These are essential nerves for survival purposes. You may have heard the phrase “fight or flight” in high school or college biology class. This increase in vagal tone is to help the body adapt to stress, and should be short lived, then return to a normal level. Unfortunately, in today‘s world of constant texting, email, social media, and hectic schedules, demands are high all day long.  The body never gets the chance to recover, and it starts to accumulate the effects of sustained or prolonged sympathetic tone.

So, when we start balancing the nervous system with chiropractic adjustments and lifestyle changes, people are often surprised when other symptoms, those that they never even told us about, start to clear up.

The particular patient I was talking about earlier was scheduled to have a surgery to remove his hemorrhoids after a year of unsuccessful treatment with other drug methods. He was stunned when they were gone in two weeks of care at our office, helping his back pain and insomnia issue.

That is always one of my favorite reasons to come to work, to hear when people are thankful for issues we helped them with beyond the scope of what we discussed in the beginning of care. Over-delivering on the goods is a benefit all businesses want to provide to their members, not just healthcare.

Adjustment helps reset the nervous overload in the body.  This not only reduces the “flight or fight” effect, calming the body, but it also decreases the hormone cortisol, and elevates dopamine and seratonin. This is not only great for general anxiety and sleep performance, but it also significantly boosts the immunity of the body.

Long story short? You can be sure that if someone is having low back pain, hemorrhoids, and sleep issues, their immune system is definitely not optimum.