Adrenal Health

More and more people are talking about stress, and its impact on the body. The adrenal glands help the body adapt to stress. Although the adrenals are no bigger than the size of a walnut, they have an incredibly important role in the human life cycle and health. Some of the many different hormones created by the adrenals include steroid hormones such as adrenalin, norepinephrine, cortisol, aldosterone, estrogen and testosterone. These hormones are critical to health and vitality.  When we are overstressed, the adrenals pump out stress hormones until they fatigue and crash, which can be devastating to the body.

This can lead to a number of different symptoms such as:

While adrenal fatigue is part of the issue, in reality the entire HPA axis is at the heart of the problem. But many people have never even heard of it! The Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis is the interconnected relationship between several glands in the nervous and endocrine systems that secrete hormones essential to survival.

The primary function of the HPA axis is to help your body respond to stress. This area of the brain called hypothalamus senses the environmental conditions and then it sends signals in the form of chemicals to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland receives the signals from the hypothalamus (corticotropin releasing hormone – CRH) and sends its own chemical signals to the adrenal glands through a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). When the ACTH reaches the adrenals, it induces the release of cortisol, a primary “stress hormone”.

Cortisol causes your body functioning to change in response to the stressor. Blood pressure increases and your muscles receive more blood, in case flight is required. Circulating glucose levels also rise, providing your body with extra energy to deal with the stressor.

Ideally, cortisol levels (and body functioning) return to normal when the source of stress has passed. But when we are under chronic stress it creates an alteration in the HPA axis which reduces the body’s ability to adapt to new stressors.  Both high and abnormally low levels of cortisol impact the HPA axis. In order to adequately deal with stress, this axis should be functioning properly. If it’s overstimulated or understimulated, it will become dysregulated – and both extremes lead to a wide range of undesirable health conditions, chronic inflammation, tissue breakdown and accelerated aging.

An overactive HPA axis can lead to both physical and psychological problems. People with chronically high cortisol levels may have a suppressed immune response which makes them more vulnerable to infection. Research has shown that high cortisol has been linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, negative impacts on cognition and memory, and mood disorders. Other conditions related to hyperactivity in the HPA axis include anorexia nervosa, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorders, alcoholism, and hyperthyroidism.

On the flip side, low activity in the HPA axis can lead to conditions like adrenal insufficiency, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder in adults, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma and eczema, to name just a few. As you can see, there are a lot of good reasons to keep your HPA axis functioning optimally. And the good news is, there are some simple things you can do to make sure this axis is healthy. It’s all about reducing stressors through lifestyle choices.

How we can help?

If you want to find out more information about adrenal health, contact us today at our Ambler, PA physical therapy clinic to make an appointment with one of our specialists at Polishuk Physical Therapy.