Did you know 62 million people in the United States are diagnosed with a digestive disorder? These health issues tend to increase with age, but can affect anyone at any age. Digestive issues can have a negative impact on a person’s everyday life, as they reduce your energy levels, deplete you of essential nutrients, keep you stuck at home, and interfere with your social and work life. While most people use medications for temporary relief, there are drug-free, safer options to consider that do more than treat symptoms. Chiropractic care is a whole-body approach that identifies and treats the source of a patient’s health conditions. Keep reading to find out how to treat your digestive issues with chiropractic.
What Are Digestive Issues?
The digestive system is responsible for absorbing essential nutrients and removing waste (i.e. toxins). A digestive issue refers to any health problem within the digestive tract. Digestive issues can range from mild to severe and can affect people at any age.
Common Digestive Issues
- Abdominal Pain
- Bloating
- Celiac disease
- Constipation
- Crohn’s disease
- Diarrhea
- Gallstones
- Gas
- Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Nausea
Top Causes of Digestive Issues
While there are a wide range of causes, researchers have discovered that genetics are a main cause of digestive issues. Environmental factors also play a role too. This includes your diet, location, medications, mood, and stress, as well as any moving or traveling. When you make any big changes to your normal routine, this can all affect your digestive system.
The Connection Between Your Digestive System and Nervous System
In case you didn’t know, your digestive system is linked to your nervous system. Your nervous system is responsible for telling your digestive system how to function. If there are any neurological interferences in the spine, this may negatively impact your digestive health.
Your Spine Communicates With Your Stomach
The thoracic and lumbar parts of the spine control how fast or slow your body breaks down and digests the food you eat. When there are nerve issues in the spine, this will affect your digestive system’s ability to function properly.
Your Lower Back and Stomach Issues
Studies have found that people suffering from stomach issues also tend to have lower back issues. A spine misalignment can happen in the lower back. In turn, this prevents key signals from reaching the brain. This explains how stomach issues can happen when there are misalignments in the lower back.
Spine Misalignments
If you have a spine misalignment, this can prevent your body from absorbing key nutrients and vitamins from the food you eat. This can cause weight loss, malnutrition, and other serious health concerns.
Treat Your Digestive Issues with Chiropractic
When you visit your local chiropractic office, a licensed chiropractor can identify and treat the underlying cause of your digestive issues. This is a much different approach than traditional healthcare, which uses medications to temporarily treat pain symptoms. Indeed, a chiropractor can perform a gentle adjustment to correct any spine misalignments. This will gently and safely guide your vertebrae back into proper alignment. Thus, this will remove the strain off of your nervous system and allow it to function properly once again. You will likely experience less digestive issues, as your nervous system can now effectively communicate with your digestive system. Many patients experience enough pain relief that they reduce or stop using medications for their digestive issues.
We hope this article helped you see how chiropractic can help those with digestive issues. It’s recommended that you talk with your primary care physician to discuss your treatment options. If you would like to learn how to treat your digestive issues naturally, contact Keystone Chiropractic in Plano, TX. Our Plano chiropractors would love to help you gain victory over your health and to start living a better life free from pain.