When it comes to a “minor” thing that can lead to a terrible day, few things are as widespread as digestive issues.
It is quite normal to lose productivity just for a tummy ache. Think about all the time spent laid out in bed, groaning over some stomach pain, or the time spent on the loo, or the lower motivation and energy that comes from a queasy, unidentified feeling in the gut. Problems with our digestion are certainly not minor issues if it happens frequently enough.
While many turn to medication to solve their digestive issues, this solution often only covers up the symptoms rather than fixes the real cause. In fact, some medications are strong enough to cause additional side effects with their use. Imagine taking medicine for stomach pain, only to feel it become worse as it irritates our tender tummy!
But wait, this is a chiropractic site. What does our musculoskeletal system have to do with our squishy soft insides? Can a chiropractor’s adjustments actually help with digestion?
This blog post aims to tell you all about that!
Common Digestive Problems
There is much more to digestive problems than simple stomach aches: Gastrointestinal issues can include indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, diarrhea, and many other types of problems that simply keep you down and out of your regular schedule.
Digestive problems are not even limited to painful ones: Symptoms such as lack of energy, reduced appetite, more frequent bathroom trips, and bloating are often signs that something is going on down there in the gut!
What Can Help With Digestion
So, what are some of the common fixes that people try to help with their gut health?
Change your diet
Sometimes fixing these issues can be as simple as changing up your diet, especially if yours contains plenty of processed food. Picking healthier food choices and cooking them with “clean” methods such as steaming and boiling can potentially reduce the amount of preservatives, additives, and chemicals that pervade modern food.
Supplement with probiotics
Our gut contains billions of good bacteria that are essential to proper digestive health. Without these little guys to break down food, we’d never be able to absorb the nutrients contained within.
Supplementation helps keep the number of bacteria in our gut high, so investing in a good one can reap significant dividends.
Exercise
It should come as no surprise that the act of moving our bodies sends signals to the digestive system to work harder, the better to gain energy needed for the movement.
Our increasingly sedentary yet food rich lifestyles can often lead to digestive problems that just need a good daily walk to fix.
The Relationship Between Your Spine and Digestion
Our bodies are really just a big bundle of nerves spread throughout us and that are held together by muscle and supported by our skeleton. These nerves send and receive signals constantly and subconsciously, a kind of information network of millions of little interactions in our bodies.
Did you know? Our spines’ thoracic and lumbar areas regulates the speed of digestion.
The spine encases a superhighway of nerves for this network and is responsible for the majority of how our bodies function, including the function of our digestive system. So even though we may think of the skeleton as just bone, the reality is that spinal misalignments can cause misfires of the nerves, which affect the digestion in unpredictable ways.
The body might fail to produce the right chemicals at the right time to signal digestive processes. Maybe suddenly food does not feel so filling anymore. Maybe your body digests food too fast, too slow, or excretes it at the wrong time. These issues can stem from the misalignment of the spine.
The key takeaway is that having a healthy spinal alignment may improve many symptoms you may be having, and potentially the best way to go about it is by looking into a chiropractic stomach adjustment.
How Chiropractic Can Help With Digestive Issues
Chiropractors are trained in the art and science of treating our musculoskeletal system, and a major part of that training involves the proper care of the human spine.
Using techniques such as manual, swift movements and technology in the form of special tools and equipment, chiropractors shift bones back into their natural alignment safely and efficiently. You would want to make sure that the chiro you see is certified by local boards; the spine is a major part of our body after all, so you definitely want a doctor who has the right training!
The second way chiropractic can help with digestive issues stems from the holistic approach most chiropractors take when analyzing your symptoms for treatment. Doctors often take into account many seemingly unrelated bits of information to identify the potential cause of your digestive issue. This includes your lifestyle, habits, sleeping and sitting positions, diet, work, and more.
After analyzing the information, chiropractors can make suggestions that may greatly reduce the severity of your symptom. Some changes may even reduce other pains that you have been feeling, like stiff backs from poor posture or a pinched nerve that is finally loosened.
The best part of it all is that most of these treatment options often do not require any form of prescription medications, a big plus for those who want to avoid loading up on such things or who prefer natural alternatives for treatment.
Licensed Chiropractors For Improving Digestive Health
If your gut is getting you down and you are interested in checking whether your spine is the cause, you can do no wrong by looking up the services of Drs. Michael and David Black.
As fully licensed chiropractors registered with the Chiropractic Board of Australia, you are assured of safety. With many years of experience between them, you are doubly assured of getting the best chiropractic care for digestive issues in the area of Victoria.
Call (03) 9509 7691 to book an appointment at one of their two branches in town!
