Chiropractic Care and Gut Health

Spinal alignment is the chiropractor’s specialty, but that doesn’t mean they’re only working on sore

backs and necks. Because the performance of your nervous system impacts your entire body, a properly

aligned spine can have an effect on all parts of your body. One of the most important places this type of

care can help is with stomach and digestive problems.

Like everything else in your body, your stomach communicates through your spine. Misalignments can

interfere with nerve function – and that includes the nerves in your digestive organs. Better

communication can lead to better performance, potentially allowing for some relief. Even the slightest

misalignment can impact how your body digests foods to how well it absorbs vital vitamins and minerals

from the food you eat.

How Your Nervous System Impacts Gut Health

There are millions of neurons embedded in the walls of your digestive system, and those regulate the

numerous gastrointestinal functions. These function independently of the central nervous system, but

they still need to communicate with each other. Spinal misalignment can interrupt that communication,

which can impact everything from the muscle contractions that push food through the digestive tract to

the proper secretion of helpful digestive enzymes and blood flow to the intestines.

Any mix up in these delicate systems can cause issues to arise with your digestive system. Adding in the

impact of the stress of daily life, and issues like irritable bowel system and acid reflux can quickly arise.

Chiropractors can ensure your spine is properly aligned, and can offer tips on how to improve posture to

keep those misalignments from happening again. This alleviates pressure on the digestive system to

allow it to function properly.

Tips for Preventative Care

Along with allowing for proper communication between your nervous system and digestive system,

chiropractors can offer insight into other forms of care that can help prevent these issues from

recurring. Diet and exercise are crucial to gut health, as maintaining a proper weight can take pressure

off your nervous system. Your chiropractor should be able to give you potential exercises and diet

recommendations to help achieve that proper weight.

Stress also plays a role in digestive help, and your chiropractors should be able to offer other tips to

reduce muscle tension and boost your overall well-being. This can indirectly benefit digestive health by

reducing the tension within your digestive tract. Your body responds to stress by releasing hormones

like adrenaline or cortisol. Chronic stress can disrupt the balance of the bacteria produced in your gut,

causing inflammation that leads to digestive issues. By combining a properly aligned spine with these

other techniques, many people can get relief from many of these digestive problems.

Keeping a properly aligned spine can impact numerous systems throughout your body, and the digestive

system is one of the most important. Issues with gut health can impact a number of areas of your daily

life, and can often be painful, as well. To learn more about how chiropractic care can potentially help

with your digestive problems, reach out to Dr. Morgan Sheridan at Foundation Chiropractic today.