How Stress Impacts your

Recovery, Hormones & Everyday Health

The Sneaky Role of Stress in Your Health: What You Need to Know

Stress — yep, we've all felt it. And while a little stress here and there is totally normal, when it becomes a constant part of life, it can start to wear you down in more ways than one.

From how your body heals after an injury to how your hormones function day to day, stress plays a much bigger role in your health than most people realise. Understanding its wide-reaching effects is key to unlocking better recovery, balance, and overall wellbeing.

1. Stress & Injury Recovery: Why Healing Feels Harder

When you’re injured, your body is already working overtime to repair itself. But if you're also chronically stressed, that healing process slows down.

Research shows that stress suppresses immune function and delays wound healing (Gouin & Kiecolt-Glaser, 2019). Why? Because stress increases cortisol—your primary stress hormone. When cortisol stays elevated, it ramps up inflammation and reduces your body's ability to regenerate and repair tissue effectively.

Bottom line: Chronic stress makes it harder for your body to bounce back from injuries.

2. Stress & Hormonal Health: The Hidden Imbalance

Stress doesn’t just affect your muscles and joints—it has a major impact on your hormones too.

At the centre of this is your HPA axis (Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis), the system that manages your stress response and helps regulate essential processes like metabolism, mood, immunity, and—you guessed it—hormones.

Chronic stress can throw this delicate system off balance. For women, that might look like irregular periods, worsened PMS, or fatigue. For men, it can show up as low testosterone or reduced fertility (Provençal & Binder, 2021; Gong et al., 2022).

Your hormonal system is the body’s internal thermostat—it helps you maintain balance, energy, and resilience. When it’s thrown off, everything else feels off too.

3. Stress & Physical Tension: When It Shows Up in Your Body

Ever noticed your shoulders creeping up to your ears when you’re under pressure? Or woken up with a sore jaw or nagging headache after a stressful day?

Stress often manifests physically—as tension, tightness, or even chronic pain. Over time, this physical strain can lead to postural imbalances, reduced mobility, and persistent discomfort. Research even links chronic stress with higher rates of musculoskeletal pain (Linton et al., 2020).

When we live in pain, it impacts everything—our movement, mood, relationships, and quality of life. And stress only amplifies the cycle.

So, What Can You Do?

Managing stress doesn’t have to be a long complicated rollercoaster. Instead, it starts with small, consistent actions:

  • Move your body - regular physical activity, you don’t have to be in the gym to do this either. Start with a walk around the block or pop on a youtube guided pilates session in the comfort of your own home. It's about consistency and movement in any shape or form. 

  • Breathe & Pause - Find a moment of stillness through breathwork, mindfulness practice or even short daily check-in’s with yourself to help calm the nervous system.  

  • Sleep matters - Aim for 7-9 hours of good sleep. Chronic stress usually goes hand in hand with poor sleep. 

  • Seek support -  Whether it’s chiropractic care, counselling, or community—don’t go it alone.

Final Thoughts

Stress may be invisible, but its impact on your body is anything but.

Whether you’re recovering from an injury, navigating hormonal changes, or just feeling a little “off,” taking a closer look at your stress levels is a powerful place to start. Because true health isn’t just physical—it’s mental, emotional, and holistic.

You deserve to feel balanced, resilient, and supported in your body.

References:

  • Gouin, J.-P., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (2019). The impact of psychological stress on wound healing: Methods and mechanisms. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America.

  • Provençal, N., & Binder, E. B. (2021). The effects of early life stress on the epigenome: From the womb to adulthood and even before. Experimental Neurology.

  • Gong, J. et al. (2022). Psychological stress and semen quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology.

  • Linton, S. J., et al. (2020). Psychological risk factors for persistent musculoskeletal pain: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Pain Reports.