Author: Dr. Bryce Hendy, DC, DNCert
Stress is a very important topic in the world of health and wellness nowadays. Most people have developed or learned ways to help manage and deal with their stress, but has anyone thought about what stress might be doing to our skeletal system?
Cortisol (the stress hormone), which is a steroid hormone, is released from the adrenal glands in the body. This release is triggered by different stimuli, the most common one being stress, which can be more closely defined as any event or activity that the brain perceives as being challenging. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adenral axis (HPA-axis) is responsible for the increase in production of cortisol in the adrenal glands and release of cortisol into the bloodstream. The hypothalamus in the brain signals the pituitary gland through corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) to release adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which will then stimulate the production and release of cortisol in the adrenal glands.
Cortisol has many functions in the body. Cortisol can influence how the body uses and stores carbs, glucose and fats. It also helps regulate the immune system and inflammation. Cortisol also can affect our day-night cycles. The main role that cortisol plays is increasing heart rate, blood pressure and energy in response to stressful stimuli. Another function of cortisol that is less known, is that it can increase production of osteoclast cells in our bones, which break down bone tissue. Cortisol also inhibits the production of osteoprotegerin, which is a protein that helps protect bone from resorption. The other function of cortisol at play here is that it can also inhibit the activity of osteoblasts in our bones, which are the bone producing cells.
So cortisol can increase production of bone resorption cells, while inhibiting bone protecting proteins and inhibiting bone producing cells. As the osteoclasts are being produced and resorbing bone, calcium is now leaving the bone and going into the bloodstream. This can lead to a loss of bone mass and cause the bones to become brittle and weak. High cortisol levels also limit the amount of calcium absorption in the colon into the bloodstream, which can make it harder to continue to produce new and stronger bone. With this comes an increased risk for fractures. When bones are softer, weaker and more brittle or have a lower bone mineral density (BMD), this makes them more susceptible to a fracture even with small movements or injuries.
In severe cases, long periods of increased stress and high cortisol levels can lead to osteoporosis. This is a condition as described above, but can become widespread throughout the skeletal system.
Stress is important to manage for many reasons, but as you can see it can also have detrimental effects on our skeletal system. A great way to help manage stress or to help regulate stress is pulsed electromagnetic frequency treatments. This helps to calm our nervous system which in turn can help regulate the HPA-Axis and help to decrease our levels of cortisol in our bloodstream. If this is something you feel like you could benefit from, or want to find out more about managing stress and cortisol levels, give us a call.
