The Nervous System and Chiropractic: What You Need to Know Part 5: When the Body Gets Stuck in Stress Mode – Central Sensitization
Welcome back to The Nervous System and Chiropractic: What You Need to Know. So far, we’ve explored subluxations, how they disrupt mechanoreceptors and nociceptors, and how this imbalance can push the autonomic nervous system into chronic stress. We’ve seen the ripple effects on your body, mind, and overall adaptability.
In this part, we’ll examine central sensitization, a condition in which your nervous system becomes overly sensitive and stays on high alert. Central sensitization helps explain why some people experience chronic pain, fatigue, brain fog, or sleep issues—even after the original cause of discomfort may have been addressed. Understanding this process shows why chiropractic care can be a key factor in “resetting” the nervous system and restoring balance.
Part 5: When the Body Gets Stuck in Stress Mode – Central Sensitization
What is Central Sensitization?
Central sensitization happens when your nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—gets stuck in “high alert” mode. It’s as if the body’s alarm system has been turned up too loud and won’t quiet down, even when there’s no real danger.
Normally, your nervous system is great at keeping you safe. When you get injured or stressed, alarm sensors called nociceptors send warning signals to the brain. The brain then decides how serious the threat is and how your body should respond. Once the problem is corrected and things start to heal, those signals calm down, and the body returns to balance.
But sometimes, especially after ongoing stress, pain, or irritation from subluxations, the nervous system doesn’t reset properly. It continues acting like something is wrong even when tissues have healed. The brain becomes overly protective and starts to overreact to normal sensations.
Imagine a smoke detector that keeps blaring even after you’ve blown out the candle. That’s what happens in central sensitization—the alarm keeps sounding even when the fire is gone.
Over time, this constant high-alert state changes how the brain and spinal cord process information. Regular touch, gentle pressure, or normal movement can start to feel uncomfortable or even painful. Pain is different from other sensations like movement or position (called proprioception) because it carries an emotional component. This means the brain can continue creating pain signals even after tissues have healed, as a way to protect you from perceived danger. The brain creates pain as a protective signal when it perceives potential harm, even if no damage is present.
In central sensitization, the brain becomes so sensitive that it starts sending pain messages from safe or normal signals. The pain is real—but it’s being generated by a nervous system that’s stuck in overdrive.
This heightened state can affect more than just pain. Because the nervous system influences every system in the body, central sensitization can also lead to fatigue, poor sleep, muscle tension, and brain fog. The body essentially gets “stuck” in stress mode, using up energy that should be spent on healing, recovery, and healthy function.
Chiropractic care helps by restoring healthy motion in the spine, reducing irritation to the nervous system, and helping the body relearn how to feel safe again.
How Central Sensitization Shows Up
Central sensitization isn’t just about pain—it’s about an overactive nervous system. Here’s what that can look like:
1. Heightened Sensitivity
When the nervous system becomes sensitized, it reacts too strongly to normal sensations. Things that would usually feel harmless—like light touch, gentle movement, or mild temperature changes—can suddenly feel uncomfortable or even painful.
This happens because the brain and spinal cord start amplifying incoming signals, treating them as potential threats instead of ordinary sensations. In other words, the “volume knob” on your nervous system gets turned up too high, making everyday sensations feel much stronger than they should.
2. Amplified Pain Signals
In central sensitization, the nervous system doesn’t just react more easily—it also turns up the intensity of pain signals. The brain interprets even small amounts of stress or irritation in the body as a bigger problem than it really is.
This means the level of pain you feel doesn’t always match the actual amount of tissue irritation or injury. A minor joint restriction or muscle tension can create widespread discomfort because the brain has learned to exaggerate those signals.
Over time, this “pain amplification” can make it harder for the body to relax and heal. Even gentle activity, stretching, or movement may trigger a stronger pain response than expected—not because of new damage, but because the nervous system is stuck in a protective, overreactive state.
3. Persistent “Danger” Messages
Normally, mechanoreceptors (motion sensors) in your joints, muscles, and tissues send constant signals to the brain that help it understand how your body is moving and functioning. These signals allow the nervous system to coordinate smooth movement, maintain balance, and keep muscles relaxed. At the same time, nociceptors send signals when there is irritation or inflammation, alerting the brain to potential tissue stress.
Central sensitization often begins after subluxations or joint restrictions have been present for a prolonged time, though it can also follow other ongoing stressors or injuries. During that period, mechanoreceptors are not sending full, healthy motion signals, while nociceptors continuously send high-alert signals of irritation. Over time, these persistent nociceptor signals override the calming effect of mechanoreceptors. This happens because the nervous system prioritizes potential threats: the brain treats ongoing irritation or inflammation as more urgent than normal movement input. In other words, the “threat signals” dominate the nervous system’s attention, keeping it in a protective, high-alert state.
Even after the joints are corrected and mechanoreceptors begin sending normal input again, the nervous system may remain overactive. Through a process called neuroplasticity—where the nervous system learns and adapts to repeated patterns—the brain and spinal cord begin to normalize this high-alert state. Eventually, the nervous system stays “turned up” so much that even normal mechanoreceptor input isn’t enough to calm it down. The result is persistent muscle tension, guarded posture, and disrupted movement patterns—even though the original joint issue has been resolved.
Central sensitization affects how the body coordinates movement, posture, and overall function—not just whether something feels uncomfortable.
4. Signals That Spread Beyond the Original Problem
Sometimes, the effects of central sensitization are felt in areas far from the original joint subluxation or tissue stress. This happens because the nervous system treats the body as a connected system, where muscles, joints, and movement in one area affect other areas—often called the kinetic chain. Think of it like a line of dominos: if one domino tilts, it can affect the ones next to it and even farther down the line. For example, a subluxation in the lower back can change how your hips, knees, and even shoulders move. Similarly, a subluxation in the neck can influence your shoulders, upper back, and posture throughout your trunk. Central sensitization amplifies this effect because the nervous system is already on high alert, so even normal movement signals from healthy areas may be interpreted as stress or threat.
The cervical spine (neck) influences not only the head and neck but also the shoulders, arms, and upper back. A prolonged subluxation here can create tension in the trapezius, levator scapulae, rhomboids, or even forearm muscles. Forward head posture or TMJ tension may also develop as the nervous system compensates for the subluxated cervical joints.
The thoracic spine (upper and mid-back) affects the rib cage, trunk rotation, and upper limb movement. If these joints are subluxated for an extended time, the body may compensate by overusing surrounding muscles like the latissimus dorsi, pectorals, and rhomboids. This can also increase tension in the lower back or neck as the trunk posture adjusts to maintain balance.
The lumbopelvic spine (lower back and pelvis) has a major role in stabilizing the lower body and coordinating movement. A subluxation here can alter hip motion, glute and hamstring activation, and even knee, ankle, or foot function. Over time, compensatory patterns may also reach the upper back and shoulders as the trunk shifts to maintain stability.
Because central sensitization keeps the nervous system in high-alert mode, these compensations are amplified. Muscles stay tight, posture becomes guarded, and movement coordination is disrupted. Even after the original joint subluxation is corrected, the nervous system may continue to treat normal signals from distant muscles as threats, creating a chain reaction of tension and functional limitations throughout the body.
5. Other Sensitivities
When the nervous system stays in a constant state of alert, it can become more reactive to many kinds of input—not just movement or joint stress. Everyday sensations like touch, pressure, or temperature changes may feel stronger, quicker, or more irritating than normal. This happens because these same nerve pathways that control movement and balance also help filter what sensations reach the brain. When those pathways are overwhelmed, normal sensations can start to feel amplified.. When those pathways are overwhelmed, even normal sensations can seem exaggerated.
This ongoing reactivity also affects how the brain and body manage rest and recovery. Because the system never fully shifts out of “alert mode,” people often notice fatigue, poor sleep, or brain fog. The body uses more energy to stay guarded, and the brain has a harder time entering deep, restorative states. Over time, this can reduce focus, coordination, and overall adaptability.
6. Nervous System Rewiring
The nervous system “learns” to stay on alert after repeated stress or subluxation.
Over time, this heightened state becomes the default pattern, making it easier for pain, tension, and muscle guarding to return even after temporary relief.
Regular chiropractic adjustments help retrain these pathways, teaching the body to return to a calmer, more balanced state.
7. Reduced Adaptability
When the nervous system stays overstimulated, its ability to adapt to daily stressors and new demands decreases. The body and mind become less flexible in how they respond to change—whether that’s physical strain, emotional stress, or shifts in routine.
Simple activities like exercising, concentrating, or handling a busy day can feel more draining than before. Recovery from workouts, illness, or even minor irritation takes longer because the body remains in a defensive, energy-consuming mode. Over time, this loss of adaptability makes it harder to maintain balance and resilience, keeping the system stuck in a loop of reactivity instead of restoration.
Why It Happens
Several factors can lead to central sensitization:
Ongoing joint stress or subluxations keep the body’s alarm system firing.
Reduced movement signals from restricted joints make it harder for the brain to feel safe and calm.
Tight muscles around the joints keep sending signals that something is wrong.
Nervous system adaptation—the brain adjusts to this “high alert” pattern and gets stuck there.
Real-Life Effects
Central sensitization can make daily life more exhausting. You may notice:
Ongoing or spreading pain
Fatigue or brain fog
Poor sleep and low energy
Sensitivity to stress, temperature, or touch
Feeling “stuck” in tension even after stretching or relaxing
How Quickly Central Sensitization Can Develop
Central sensitization can start faster than most people realize:
Right Away: A joint restriction can trigger increased muscle tension and nerve sensitivity within hours.
Short-Term: If the restriction lasts for days or weeks, the nervous system begins adapting to this new “normal.”
Long-Term: Over months, the system can become rewired to stay sensitive, even after the original cause is gone.
That’s why early detection and correction of subluxations are so important—before the nervous system fully adapts to being on edge.
How Chiropractic Care Helps Reset the Nervous System
Chiropractic adjustments help bring the body out of stress mode by improving joint motion and nervous system balance. Here’s how:
1. Restoring Movement
When joints move properly, they send healthy signals to the brain called mechanoreceptor input. Adjustments restore this motion, helping the brain recognize that the body is safe.
2. Calming Pain Signals
By correcting joint restrictions, adjustments reduce mechanical stress and irritation, quieting the “danger” messages sent by nociceptors.
3. Rebalancing the Nervous System
With fewer pain signals and more positive motion signals, the nervous system begins to calm down and respond normally again.
4. Encouraging Healthy Rewiring
Because the nervous system can learn and adapt, repeated adjustments help “train” it to stay balanced and less reactive over time.
5. Supporting Whole-Body Function
As the nervous system resets, patients often notice improvements in posture, flexibility, energy, and stress resilience.
In short, chiropractic adjustments help the nervous system shift from overdrive to balance, improving how the whole body functions and feels.
The Big Picture
Central sensitization shows how chronic stress on the nervous system can lead to widespread pain, fatigue, and tension. A single joint restriction can create a ripple effect throughout the body, affecting movement, sleep, energy, and mood.
Chiropractic care works to restore proper joint motion, reduce overactive nerve signals, and retrain the brain to respond appropriately. The earlier this is addressed, the easier it is to reset the system and prevent long-term issues.
Next, in Part 6, we’ll explore neuroplasticity—how the nervous system can actually learn healthier patterns through consistent chiropractic care, leading to lasting improvements in movement, energy, and resilience.
Wellness Within Chiropractic is proud to be a trusted choice for chiropractic care in Hoschton, Braselton, and throughout Jackson County, GA. Dr. Carrillo and our team focus on whole-body health, helping you improve function, energy, and overall wellness. Discover how chiropractic care can support your best life by scheduling a visit with us today.