“Doc, since I’ve been getting adjusted my bowels are more regular than ever! Can chiropractic care help digestion?” This is one of the most common questions/statements my practice members say to me at some point during the first week or two of being adjusted. It never ceases to amaze me. People come to see me because of pain and, as their pain is improving, they start to notice the pleasant side effect of better digestion! We’ll explore this magical connection between your spine and digestion for today’s article.

Spine & Digestion

The area of your middle back, or thoracic spine, that is between your shoulder blades down to where your ribs end (T5-T12 to be exact) is the part of your nervous system that controls and coordinates what goes on in your stomach, small intestine and large intestine.

Most people carry stress in this part of their middle back due to poor posture, excessive sitting and prolonged time in front of a computer. This type of stress on the spine leads to subluxations which interfere with how the nerves are working. Interference to the nerves results in changes or dysfunction to the organs affected by these nerves.

When practice members start care here we begin taking pressure off of the spine, things start moving, sometimes literally! Bowels become more frequent, regular and consistent all an added bonus to a healthy and properly aligned spine!

Other Benefits of Chiropractic Care

Of course this is not the only added benefit to chiropractic care. I get to hear all about how people are sleeping better, sinus congestion is gone, energy is through the roof, skin rashes clear up, sexual function is improved and all a whole bunch of other amazing things!

The nervous system is the electrical wiring of the body and the spine is the fuse box. Think about the electrical panel in your house. If you trip the breaker to the kitchen, all the electricity in the kitchen goes out…none of your appliances will work. The same is true of the spine. If there is a subluxation at T6, the power to the stomach goes out (ok, not totally in this case, but you get the point, right?) Diminished power to the stomach means that your stomach is not working at it’s optimal levels.

Just like you would go to the electrical panel and flip the breaker back on, you need to go to a chiropractor and we can turn the power back on by adjusting the level of the spine affected by the subluxation. A healthy spine is a healthy body. When’s the last time you had a spinal check-up?

Get Involved

Did you notice having better bowel movements after visiting a chiropractor for the first time?