EP 558: How Chiropractic Reduces Stress By Improving Nervous System Function

What makes Dr. Anthony Lopez with Thermography Center Dallas a good neighbor?

You can feel fine for years, then one ordinary moment—lifting groceries, watching a stressful movie, or pushing through another busy week—can suddenly turn into pain, tension, or fatigue. We talk with Dr. Anthony Lopez of Thermography Center Dallas about why those moments often aren’t truly “out of nowhere” and how understanding the nervous system may help people better understand what their bodies are experiencing.

Dr. Lopez is a Doctor of Chiropractic with training in neuromuscular massage and nervous-system-focused care. He explains the concept of “resting tension” and how stress can build in the body over time. We also tackle one of the biggest misconceptions about chiropractic care: that it’s simply about cracking or adjusting the back. Dr. Lopez explains why he uses multiple approaches and how different techniques can be tailored to the individual.

We also explore the kinds of concerns he works with, from everyday back pain to more complex patterns involving scar tissue, core stability, breathing mechanics, neck tension, and headaches. The conversation offers a practical look at how different parts of the body can influence one another and why understanding the underlying pattern matters.

Nutrition and recovery also come into the conversation. Dr. Lopez shares his perspective on simple, quality foods such as protein, fresh vegetables, and fruit, along with his thoughts on intermittent fasting and supporting the body’s recovery.

We also discuss thermography and how heat-pattern imaging works. Dr. Lopez explains the technology in accessible terms and how thermography may be used as an additional tool for observing physiological patterns. It is an interesting conversation about paying attention to the signals your body gives you and being proactive about your health.

If you’re curious about chiropractic care, nervous-system-focused wellness, or thermography in Dallas, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.

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Guest Info: Thermography Center Dallas | https://thermographycenterdallas.com

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_01 0:00

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Sophia Yvette.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Are you in need of a chiropractor? One may be closer than you think. Today I have the pleasure of introducing our good neighbor, Dr. Anthony Lopez with Thermography Center Dallas. Dr. Anthony, it's great to have you on today. Now we are excited to learn more about you and your practice. So tell us a little bit more about what you do.

What Dr. Lopez Actually Does

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Okay, so I am a doctor of chiropractic, a neuromuscular massage therapist, quantum neurology, NET practitioner, and basically what I do is I just help the spine and the nervous system perform at its peak by a process of monitoring the what I call the resting tension, decreasing the tension, and decreasing the stressor, getting the body to move biomechanically correct, and a few other added interesting features as well.

SPEAKER_02 1:00

Wow, that all sounds very interesting.

A Back Injury Sparks The Career

SPEAKER_02 1:03

How did you originally get into this business?

SPEAKER_00 1:06

That's a really good question. And I would have to go back to 1993 when I had my first major back injury at the age of 19 while I was lifting weights. I lifted weights in the gym and I woke up the next morning, couldn't really move very well, and went to the chiropractor for five days a week, three days a week, excuse me, for about six months. And the guy instructed me, don't go to the gym, don't work out, don't do anything strenuous. So I did that. I went to the chiropractor, and I was intrigued with all the office decorations, the spinal charts, the everything else. And I'm like, huh, what does it take to become a chiropractor? Because I always had on my heart to be in this particular profession, like being a doctor of some kind. Then he said it takes three years to become a doctor. And I said, Do I have to go to through summer? And he says, Yeah, the classes go through summer. So I was a sophomore in college and I was burned out with no direction. And several years later, I ended up stu becoming a personal trainer, excuse me, and started studying with a Czech institute under Paul Czech in the fall of 2002. And man, he really lit a fire in my heart and soul and got me basically on that path again. So after nine years of being married, raising a family, and having various career paths before, this definitely was a big starting point, a starting point of preparation that would lead me to chiropractic school seven years later.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Very interesting

Moving Past The “Cracking” Myth

SPEAKER_02 2:29

story. Now, with all the experience you have in your industry today, what is the most common misconception about what you do that you come across?

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Do I crack backs? Do I crack necks? The usual hearsay, the usual, because a lot of chiropractors post that online. They post cracking back and neck videos. And okay, a lot of people want to see that because they love the relief, they love the sound, they love the care. But that there is an audience out there that wants chiropractic care that probably don't want their neck popped or that, okay, no problem. I have a plan B, I have a plan C, thanks to my soft tissue training, thanks to my understanding of joint mobilization and the different levels of joint mobilization. That's how I would take care of that in that particular scenario. You don't have to be scared to go because everybody has a nervous system, everybody has a everybody that's alive has a beating heart. What we used to say in school is anybody who's still alive has a beating heart and has a spine is a good chiropractic patient, is an ideal patient.

SPEAKER_02 3:27

Now, Dr. Anthony, we're gonna go ahead and switch gears here

Who He Helps And How

SPEAKER_02 3:31

for a second. Now we know marketing is the heart of every business. So ideally, who are you looking to help and how are you attracting them today?

SPEAKER_00 3:40

I talk to people that have varying degrees of dysfunction, everybody from just basic back pain. To, for example, if I'm talking to a mom that had three C-sections, I would talk to her about her scar tissue and how it's altered the function of her lower abdominal muscles and how her back is not protected as much. She may have some breathing difficulties because her body has had to go from breathing from her diaphragm here in the lower rib cage to now breathing through her shoulders and it's caused chronic neck tension and headaches. And so I have to educate her on that. I've had people that have had chronic emotional stress for many years from traumatic experiences. And chiropractic care, believe it or not, can affect the autonomic nervous system when you get into the specifics of that to help calm the nervous system down to that specific stressor.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Wow, Dr. Anthony, are you saying we all should have a chiropractor on hand?

SPEAKER_00 4:34

It's like this. This is my doctor. This is my dentist. This is my chiropractor. That about sums it up.

Why Everyone Needs A Chiropractor

SPEAKER_02 4:44

Wow, but all the knowledge that you have, your knowledge seems to go very deep, especially into the neurological space. Have you ever thought about having your own podcast for the business?

SPEAKER_00 4:56

I have put videos out before and I have done podcast interviews like this and have raised a lot of curiosity about getting into the what I call brain-based, chiropractic or neurologically based. It was one of the three reasons that drew me back to going to school 17 years ago. And it helped me really shape who I am professionally, and it even helped my personal life, my family life. Everybody around me has benefited from this. Those who commit to care and are consistent. And this, it's profoundly deep. It's so much more than, as a matter of fact, there's there's a joking. If you want, I could send you a link to a pretty funny video that these students put out in YouTube when I was going to school. This was about 2012-ish. It's called chiropractic is much bigger than cracking backs. And so that video is kind of funny, but it sends a very profound message because it's what you see versus what actually happens.

Family Life And Real Results

SPEAKER_02 5:49

And when you're not a chiropractor, what do you do outside of work for fun?

SPEAKER_00 5:54

I like to go to the gym. I like to work out, I like to sometimes play video games, not as much, but playing video games with my kids, it makes it much more fun. And also, I like doing outdoor stuff, riding a bike, riding a skateboard, uh, possibly just going, just going walking places. I like watching movies also, various kinds of so, Dr.

SPEAKER_02 6:16

Anthony, do you find being a parent yourself and having this knowledge that you have when it comes to being a chiropractor, when it comes to the neurological space, are you able to give your children better tips? Are there tips that you have for parents that may be listening to help their children out as they go through that growth process?

SPEAKER_00 6:37

All four of my kids are grown, and I have a granddaughter. She's almost two years old, and my kids are 23 to 29 years old. Three girls, one boy. And one time my son-in-law a couple of years ago was having some pain in his foot to the point where he was using a cane to walk everywhere he went. And I went to visit him and worked on his feet a couple of times and did my brain-based chiropractic soft tissue techniques. And ever since then, this was two years ago, and he hasn't had to use a cane since. And I can go on and on about one of my daughters that had high levels of emotional stress, and I used my training from nutrition to be able to get her the right diet guidance, eat these foods, drink plenty of water, but also take these certain micronutrients like vitamins, minerals, secondary nutrients, enzymes, to get the organs support the support they need, to get the molecules and cells and tissues the support they need. So, yes, every time my son complains about back pain, he knows who to go to because every time I work on him, I work on him once a month. And he's like, man, I can do more, I can I'm able to perform better, I'm able to lift more, I'm able to go longer hours, I don't feel as tired. Yeah, I can go on and on. My daughter who was pregnant, and I worked on her to help release some of the ligaments and soft tissues while she was pregnant, and it helped her be able to have a uh a less strenuous pregnancy throughout that.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

Very interesting.

Simple Nutrition And Intermittent Fasting

SPEAKER_02 7:58

And on that nutrition side, what are some of those top foods that you recommend?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

The simplest in a general sense would be freshly cooked meats, grass-fed, ocean-caught fish, grass-fed beef, chicken, pork, or all those meats, and also fresh vegetables. Above ground vegetables are low glycemic, typically, below-ground vegetables are higher glycemic, like carrots or radishes or beets, potatoes, and fresh fruit. That should be the main staple of your diet. There's a lot of talk about intermittent fasting, which I do support. I've seen some really good results with that. Of course, there's my my philosophy is food no matter what time of the day. Sometimes I'll have a salmon and salad for breakfast. Sometimes I will have fried eggs for dinner or just something light. Just something like that. It's not always what you eat, it's sometimes when you eat, too.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Very interesting. And to sum everything up that we've discussed today, what is one final piece of knowledge you would like to leave our listeners with about thermography

Thermography And The Resting Tension Idea

SPEAKER_02 9:04

centered atlas?

SPEAKER_00 9:05

Thermography scan is basically just a very subtle heat type of scan, that hence the name thermo. It's the best way to describe it to the general public is an early detection of the disease process. In other words, if something's going on with my liver, my heart, my circulation system, my thyroid. This this particular test picks it up in its early stages. And this is something that I like to do when I talk about the resting tension principle, as I mentioned before. Let's just say I'm going to use pounds as a metric to simplify this. Let's just say 200 pounds is your stress limit. That's as much as your nervous system. Now, this could be physical stress, it could be emotional stress, it could be dietary stress. For example, not everybody gets sick during cold and flu season, right? So there are some people that are probably on that tension scale. Some people's immune systems are on the cusp of their breaking point or a symptom point, while other people's immune systems are functioning way down here where it takes a lot more stress to make them sick. Same thing with emotional stress. Some people can watch, you can have people in a theater that watch a movie, and if some if there's somebody in the audience that has a fear of snakes and they watch a movie and their tension is near their symptom or breaking point, once they see that that picture, they're gonna jump like this and withdraw, even though they can they can't get hurt. Physical stress, if you've accumulated enough physical stress in your life by repetitive movements and muscle memory, then if you pick up a box or a sack of groceries out of the trunk, you might find yourself straining your back. And you're like, wow, how did this happen? You have accumulated that stress. So if 200 pounds is the limit and 150 pounds produces symptoms, and let's just say you've accumulated 100 pounds of stress in your life, let's just call physical stress. If I lift 50 pounds of stress or 50 pounds by volume, in other words, if I lift five pound boxes 10 times, then I might find my back becoming sore, it might go out, it might get hurt. But if I start close to zero and I lift and I lift that same 50 pounds, I would barely feel it in the next morning. That's what happened to my back 33 years ago, and that's what happens to a lot of people. They just gradually build up to that boiling point.

Where To Learn More And Nominate

SPEAKER_02 11:11

And final question for you where can our listeners go to learn more about Thermography Center Dallas?

SPEAKER_00 11:17

There was a website, thermographycenterdallas.com, where we have a description of the services available, including myself, who I provide chiropractic care for emotional stress, scar tissue therapy, general spinal care, any kind of pain or dysfunction in the body, uh, weak muscles that need that brain-body connection rewired, stuff like that. So I hope that helps.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Well, Dr. Anthony, I really appreciate you being on the show today. We wish you and your business the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpfrisco.com. That's gnpfrisco.com or call 469-221-9345.