Everyone knows that regular exercise is good for the body. But did you know that exercise is also one of the most effective ways to improve your mental health? In addition to exercise, efficient posture, bony alignment and organ mobility are also key to improving your mental health.
Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on both anxiety and depression. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood. Research indicates that modest amounts of exercise can make a noticeable difference. No matter your age or fitness level, you can learn to use exercise as a powerful tool to boost your mental health.
So you may be wondering, how do posture, bony alignment and organ mobility help my mental health? The best way to get a handle on this is to think of your body like a river. The body is about 70% water, in other words, it’s designed to be pliable and viscous inside. Nutrients are shuttled to and fro throughout the entire system from head to toe, core to surface and vice versa. When your body is out of alignment, your organs are not moving in the space they are intended to or areas are crunched up due to inefficient postures, you end up with stagnant areas in the body. Nutrients get stuck, toxins get stuck, nerves aren’t free to conduct the way they need to and we end up feeling depressed, anxious and sluggish. If alignment, posture or immobile organ systems are an issue for you, even one visit with a skilled manual therapist adjusting your alignment can improve mood and outlook on life.
At Partners in Physical Therapy, we can create a targeted home exercise plan as well as mobilize your organs and bony systems to help alleviate some of your anxiety and/or depression symptoms. Additionally, our experienced Lake Charles physical therapists can provide you with tips for dealing with negative feelings.
It is important to understand both the physical and mental aspects of health, and how they correlate with one another. During our physical therapy appointments with you, we will discuss how to maintain a healthy diet and body mass index, how to incorporate daily exercises into your busy schedule, and how to cope with negative feelings, such as stress, anger, or conflict, in a healthy way.
How will a physical therapy program help my depression?
Maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing into a depressive state. It promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good.
Exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression.
How will a physical therapy program help my anxiety?
Anything that gets you moving can help, but you’ll get a bigger benefit if you pay attention instead of zoning out. By adding this mindfulness element — really focusing on your body and how it feels as you exercise — you’ll not only improve your physical condition faster, but you may also be able to interrupt the flow of anxious worries running through your head. In addition, as noted above, alignment, posture and organ mobility are key in reducing anxiety as a whole. In fact, low back pain or misalignment in the spine in particular can be a sole source of anxiety because of the intricate relation to the nervous system.
Contact our physical therapy practice for help:
If you are living with anxiety or depression and you are looking for new ways to ease your negative feelings without having to leave the house, request an appointment from Partners in Physical Therapy today. We’ll provide you with coping tips and a treatment plan that will get you moving to release those feel-good endorphins!
