The connection between chiropractic care and gut health runs deeper than it seems. At the Marc Bony Chiropractic Center in Mataró, we explore how a chiropractic adjustment can have a positive impact on your gut.
Chiropractic and the Intestines
Chiropractic Care May Be the Missing Link for Intestinal Disorders
Chiropractic care involves using the hands to manually adjust the spine to correct subluxations. Chiropractic care is generally considered effective for lower back pain, mid-back pain, or neck pain, but What is the connection to intestinal disorders?
What is the scientific basis of chiropractic?
To answer this question, we need to go back to the basics of what is actually happening when you undergo a chiropractic adjustment. The spine serves as a gateway to all the different nerves in the body. The spinal nerves that travel to the head and upper neck supply the head, eyes, nose, face, scalp, and everything else, such as the brain and brainstem.
When the vertebrae in your neck become misaligned or subluxated—such as when you hit your head, fall, bump your head getting out of a car, or experience any kind of trauma—the nerves in the area of the injury are damaged because the vertebrae are out of their natural alignment. Even if the vertebrae are only one centimeter out of alignment, the nerves become compressed.
Nerves don't stay quiet when they're in pain
Nerves don’t get compressed without saying a “word.” Nerves express what’s happening to them, and then they respond by creating symptoms such as sharp pain, chills, a wave of heat, numbness, or a tingling sensation in a part of the body. Your nervous system is determined to make you understand that the situation causing damage to a nerve must change.
Symptoms associated with these nerve signals may also include a headache, signs such as vision or hearing problems, facial tics, drooping eyes or lips, neck pain, sharp pains in the arms, muscle weakness, and even scalp pain.
How do the spinal nerves affect the internal organs?
When we look at what is happening in the lower and middle parts of the spine, you will see that the spinal nerves in this area travel to the internal organs. The spinal nerves of the mid-back innervate the heart, lungs, and stomach, as well as the throat, thyroid, parathyroid glands, pancreas, adrenal glands, and liver. Thus, whenever there is a vertebral subluxation in this area, it affects the spinal nerves that travel to these organs, which ultimately leads to disease in those organs (since these organs do not typically present symptoms).
The lower part of your spine houses the spinal nerves that go to the intestines. One part of the intestine is the sphincter between the large intestine and the rectum. This sphincter is responsible for controlling the frequency of your bowel movements. If the sphincter opens, then you will have more bowel movements than usual. If the sphincter is closed, then you will be constipated. This sphincter is controlled by a nerve. And if you trace the nerve back, you’ll find that it travels all the way to the spine.
The Connection Between Chiropractic Care and Intestinal Disorders
Therefore, if you have Crohn's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or ulcerative colitis, Part of the problem could be what's happening with the spinal nerve and the vertebrae.
If you've never been to a chiropractor but suffer from any of these intestinal disorders, it could be very important for you to have your spine adjusted, and the chiropractor can manually adjust the sphincter. Think about this— Can a medication cure something like this? No, it can't.
Of course, there are other things that can happen when you have intestinal disorders. It’s very likely that your chiropractor is up to date on the different types of probiotics that have been specifically developed to help people with intestinal disorders restore the proper bacterial flora in their intestines. He or she can prescribe a probiotic that provides the right flora and thus help you reduce the discomfort you experience with these disorders.
But you won't know the beneficial impact that chiropractic care can have on your intestines until you visit a chiropractor and get an adjustment. Make an appointment today. There are many aspects of your intestinal issues that warrant consultation—and by trying different ways to treat them, you'll eventually find the solution.
You can find more information on our websites. A good source for research on cases in which chiropractic care has been helpful can be found on the Chiropractic Association's website.
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