Whether you’re suffering from heartburn, upset stomach, constipation, or another digestive problem, you’ve probably spent a good deal of time scanning the medicine aisles for relief. Many people already know that chiropractic care can help treat lower back pain, and the adjustments can improve the quality of a patient’s life, but chiropractic treatment isn’t just for back, neck, and joint problems. Though stomach or digestive issues may not come to mind, they can also be treated with chiropractic care.
Digestion problems
The trouble with your digestive tract could be due to a lot of things. Common digestive problems include irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, ulcers, constipation, Celiac Disease, nausea, indigestion, and more. Issues within the gastrointestinal tract can range from mild to severe and life-threatening with varying treatment options. All of these irritations can occur anywhere within the large or small intestines, and some conditions may be chronic, while others are occasional flare-ups. Although medication can provide relief of symptoms, it may not always treat the underlying cause.
Chiropractic treatment
Chiropractors look for the root cause of your health problems by analyzing your spine. Your spine protects your spinal cord and spinal nerves, which control every function within your body, including the digestive system. Nerves in the thoracic and lumbar regions play an essential role in digestion, so when the nervous system is under stress or misalignment is present in your spine, your body may not function properly.
Pain in the stomach may originate elsewhere within your body, and finding the source is not always easy. However, chiropractors are trained to trace connections, and by understanding the relationships of your body’s systems and how they function, it allows them to alleviate the pain and discomfort. Chiropractic care can realign your spine and provide the attached muscles and nerves relief, allowing your body to return to optimum function and your digestive issues to subside.
Care will begin with a thorough physical examination and discussion with the patient about medication history and lifestyle. Sometimes overuse of alcohol, lack of exercise, chronic poor posture, diet, or even water intake can be the source of a problem. If an out-of-place vertebra is a problem, your chiropractor will provide adjustment to restore proper function and mobility to the spine.
Your chiropractor may also recommend lifestyle changes such as an increase in water consumption or improvement in diet. Dehydration can be a problem that affects the human body in a variety of ways, and the digestive tract is no different as it requires plenty of water to move food through it. A healthy diet is vital for many diagnoses and is especially true for digestive issues. Try improving your diet with less processed foods and more whole grains, healthy fats, and plenty of fruits and vegetables.
For more information on how chiropractic care can help you with your digestive system, please contact O’Neill Chiropractic today to schedule a consultation or for more information.