Coping with Holiday Stress!

It's that time of year again: some are excited at that statement and some are dreading the holidays. If you are in the latter group, this article is for you. There is a lot to be thankful and excited about, like your health and spending quality time with your family; but there can be a lot to stress about too, like getting the house ready, food prepared and how you are going to handle Aunt Millie's out bursts.

Stress can have a negative effect on your health. Some stress, like the panic you go into when someone cuts you off in traffic or your son jumps out from behind the door to scare you, is good for you. In that moment, your body is designed to rush blood to your legs and arms and even a rush of white blood cells (the immune boosters) is surged through your body. Chonic stress however, like the impending arrival of out of your mother-in-law, is damaging to your health. It raises blood pressure, lowers your immune system and increases the risk for heart attack and stroke.

To cope with  stress, try these tips:

1. Acknowledge your feelings.
Trying to put on a happy face when you are anxious inside will not accomplish anything. Come to grips with the fact you are sad or anxious.

2. Reach out.
Feeling alone or sad can be helped by reaching out to your community at events or even volunteering.

3. Be realistic.
The holidays do not have to be perfect and you do not have to do it alone. Ask someone to bring a side dish or the wine. If someone cannot make it, realize they too are under stress and be understanding to their situation.

4. Set aside differences.
Now is a good time to let that tiff go between you and your sister. Letting go of grievances for the time being does not admit defeat, but rather trying to keep the peace is admirable.

5. Stick to a budget.
Going over the holiday budget is just going to stress you out over your financial situation later. If something can be homemade, like holiday cards, try that. Cut out the decorations or reuse from last year. Save wrapping paper and bags to reuse.

6. Plan ahead.
Set aside certain days for shopping, visiting friends and baking. Make a menu for each event and a shopping list to follow to avoid last minute scrambling.

7. Learn to say no.
Going to every event, working overtime at the office and catering to every one's needs will take a toll on you. People will understand you are not Wonder Woman, so know your limits.

8. Stick to healthy habits.
Over-indulging will just lead to stress and guilt. Have a healthy snack, like trail mix or an apple, handy. Get about 8 hours of sleep, drink plenty of water and try taking a brisk walk when the stress is too much.

9. Take a breather.
Take 15 minutes to veg out, take a walk or listen to soothing music. You can put the world on hold for 15 minutes while you recuperate and don't feel selfish doing it!

10. Seek professional help.
Despite your best efforts, you may still feel persistently sad, irritable and hopeless. Seek the help of a mental health professional if these feeling persist.

11. See your chiropractor!
Achy joints can limit your movements and hinder your sleep. Getting your joints realigned through a chiropractic adjustment can relieve achiness and it even increases your immune system.

For questions about how chiropractic can help stress or questions about stress in general, please call 636-825-6555 or email CWCchiropractic@gmail.com

What is the Webster Technique?!

With so many questions and misunderstandings about the Webster Technique, let's take some time to clear up some issues and have a better understanding of what this technique is all about.

First of all, the Webster Technique is a chiropractic technique used to realign the bone at the base of the spine, a triangle-shaped bone called the sacrum. Also, tension is reduced in the round ligament, a ligament that connects the uterus to the sacrum, with a slight pressure.

The sacrum is comprised of 5 bones that fuse together. It rests at the base of the spine, creating a platform for the rest of the bones of the spine, the vertebrae, to rest on. The sacrum can become misaligned, or subluxated, from many different ways. Sitting for prolonged periods of time, especially with your legs crossed can twist the pelvis into misalignment. Many times, a previous injury to an ankle or leg can shift the way your body distributes weight, causing a misalignment. Sometimes though, an injury such as falling on a patch of ice or wrestling around with the kids can alter the position of the sacrum.

Once the sacrum is subluxated, the platform for the rest of the vertebrae above it is misaligned and can cause rotation in vertebrae above it. Also, the round ligaments can be tightened on that side, and if you are pregnant, the space for baby to move around in is limited or twisted.

In the Webster Technique, the side in which the sacrum has moved back is determined by a Webster Certified Chiropractor. Once this side is determined, an adjustment is used to help realign the sacrum. The adjustment consists of placing a hand on the side of the sacrum that has moved back and delivering a gentle thrust to push it forward, which is cushioned by a table designed to give away at the pelvis with a force applied to it.

After the adjustment, the patient is positioned on their back and the side of round ligament tension is determined. A pressure applied on the round ligament helps relax the ligament. The round ligament is special in that it is also comprised of muscle tissue. Just like an overused muscle, the round ligament can become tense. The pressure on the ligament helps to relax it, much like a massage helps relax tired muscles.

The goal of this procedure is to create an ideal position of the pelvic bones- NOT to turn breech babies! Beware of these claims that are unfortunately being made by the chiropractic community. As explained by the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association and Dr. Webster,


The Webster protocol is a specific chiropractic sacral analysis and diversified adjustment. The goal of the adjustment is to reduce the effects of sacral subluxation/ SI joint dysfunction. In so doing neuro-biomechanical function in the pelvis is facilitated.

By aligning the space for baby, it is often observed that breech babies turn vertex, or head down. This is a great outcome, but again, this is just a wonderful side effect observed by being adjusted! There are many factors effecting the position of baby, and if inadequate space to turn around is one of them, then getting adjusted would help facilitate the turning. However, if a baby is breech due to other factors, a baby will not turn vertex. This does not mean the Technique did not work though. The treatment goal is to reduce the subluxation of the sacrum.

What are other side effects of adjustments others are enjoying? Well for starters, the adjustment, to any place in the body, not just the sacrum, increases the circulation of white blood cells in the blood stream. White blood cells help fight off illnesses. Does this mean the adjustment is a treatment for illness? Not really. Patients have noticed a decrease in recovery time from illnesses after an adjustment, which is a great side effect of reducing subluxations. Some patients have noticed a decrease in asthma symptoms with adjustments as well. Reducing the interference to the nervous system with an adjustment can have this affect on patients, but does not  mean chiropractic is a treatment for asthma.

To learn more about the Webster Technique, chiropractic or your specific condition, please contact CWC at 636-825-6555, or more information can be found on our website at: www. CWCchiropractic.com

Dr. Angela Woodson