Chiropractic Care and the Digestive System
Why Digestive Health and Functional Chiropractic Care Are More Closely Related Than You Think.....
Digestive issues and nutrition are integral parts of our total health picture, and one of the questions you might be asking is: can chiropractic assist with my digestive issues?
The answer to this question is both simple, and complex - but I will try to explain in this blog post how your digestive health and nutrition are intertwined with overall health, and how a functional approach to a healthy nervous system may be the underlying root cause for some long-standing health issues.
Understanding Digestive Health and Chiropractic Care
What Is The Relationship Between the Digestive System and the Nervous System?
The digestive system is often known as the "second brain". Trillions of nerve endings are found in the digestive tract, in areas such as the stomach, the intestines, and the colon. These nerve endings feed the brain and nervous system information about blood flow, immune responses, and pain, and the gut is also one of the first places that the body responds to any object - both "hostile" and "friendly."
There is also a well-established emotional connection to the health of the gut. If you've ever eaten food that doesn't "sit right", or before an exciting event, you felt "butterflies" in your gut, this is an excellent example of how we feel and sense our environment manifests itself in the gut, and how our brain adjusts pain and other feelings in our gut in response to what is going on inside of our bodies.
How Chiropractic Care May Help Digestive Issues
The Science Behind Chiropractic Care
Chiropractors focus on the relationship between your spine and overall health.
Pressure, inflammation, and obstruction of nerve transmission, in the spine, called subluxations, can lead to pain, limited movement, and can have other downstream effects to all parts of your body.
All parts of your gut are connected to and by the nervous system. In fact, the digestive system is connected to two separate parts of the nervous system: the "sympathetic" nervous system, and the "parasympathetic" nervous system.
When the sympathetic nervous system is "dominant", this is known as the fight or flight response. When we are in this system, we are often responding to stressful events, and we don't necessarily dedicate body resources, such as blood flow, to our digestive system.
When we are in parasympathetic dominant state, we are often calm, at rest, and this is known as the "rest and digest" state. Here, we can focus on "thriving" activities, such as love, connection, peace, joy, and digestion.
Through gentle adjustments and care of our nervous system with chiropractic, the after-effects of an adjustment often result in "positive" input into the nervous system, which trains the brain and body to respond to "safety", and to understand that it is in a place that can "thrive", instead of feeling stuck in "fight or flight."
Techniques Used by Chiropractors That May Assist With Digestive Issues
There are many different adjusting techniques - the most "traditional" technique that many are familiar with, called "Diversified" technique, is where the chiropractor applies a High Velocity, Low Amplitude thrust to the spinal joints, which opens up the joint spaces being adjusted and makes a loud "pop".
This action triggers a signal through the nerves to the brain, which tells the brain to send anti-inflammatory chemicals to the area of restriction (where the chiropractor adjusted).
This flood of anti-inflammatory chemicals often results in a feeling of immediate relief, as endorphins are often also released after the adjustment. However, some people find these types of adjustments abrupt, aggressive, or forceful, and instead prefer a softer and gentler technique, especially in the low back area, where the nerves that directly influence the digestive system are located.
This softer technique is what we use at Davar Health in St. George, where we use a low-force instrument that does not cause twisting, popping, or cracking, but achieves the same nerve signal effect that traditional chiropractic adjustments do. We are happy to show you how this works in our office.
Why Active Parents Need Chiropractic Care For Wellness and General Health
Stay Active and Pain-Free
As an active parent, especially living and raising a family in St. George, you don’t want digestive issues slowing you down.
Whether it’s running by the Virgin River with friends or hiking the national parks with your family, chiropractic care helps keep your body in motion.
By addressing the root cause of your issues, you can stay active without relying on painkillers or avoiding your favorite activities out of fear of causing more pain or injury.
Prevent Long-Term Issues
One of the number one predictors of all-cause mortality in the long-term has been shown to be inactivity. The last thing we want you to do is to stop doing the activities you enjoy because you were told you wouldn't be able to do something.
In almost all cases except for the very serious ones, exercise and conservative care such as chiropractic and physical therapy are far and away the best options for recovery and prevention.
Perform at Your Best
When your spine is properly aligned, your body works more efficiently. Improved alignment enhances strength, balance, and endurance—all key to performing well in your favorite activities. Plus, you’ll have more energy to keep up with your kids!
Why Early Care Matters
One of the biggest mistakes I see is parents waiting too long to seek help and be proactive about their overall health, including digestive issues. Addressing issues early, and having a clear plan in place for attacking it head-on, makes care benefits faster and more effective. It also prevents minor issues from becoming chronic problems.
Tips for Managing Nutrition and Digestive Issues Between Visits
While chiropractic care is essential, there are definitely things you can do at home to support your recovery and prevent future flare-ups:
1. Evaluate Your Food Intake Regularly
Eat whole foods, the fewer ingredients the better. Pasture-raised, organic, and farm-fresh are always the best choice compared to packaged and processed foods.
2. Take A Look At Nutrition
You may have seen the rise of influencers talking about how inflammatory foods, such as seed oils, processed packaged foods, food dyes, and other substances in our food supply are affecting our health.
For some, especially in my clinical experience, I have seen remarkable turnarounds in pain and inflammation (and healthy weight loss) by simply eliminating or swapping certain cooking oils for butter or olive oil, eating more meat and whole dairy products such as steak, ground beef, or eggs, and by cutting out "healthy drinks" such as diet soda - and just drinking plain water or sparkling water. When your body isn't focusing on "cleaning out" what you've eaten, it can dedicate time and energy to healing the rest of your body, including other issues such as chronic neck pain, migraines, and hip pain that just haven't gone away the last few years.
