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Gastrointestinal Health

COMMON CONDITIONS

gastrointestinal and functional medicineAn increasing number of people are looking to complementary treatments for their health issues. While conventional medicine and pharmaceuticals treat the symptoms of a health problem, they rarely address the underlying cause. Functional Medicine and Chiropractic practices are seeing more patients who seek relief from their conditions that may not always be provided by conventional methods. Gastrointestinal (GI) conditions are complex, but Functional Medicine approach along with Chiropractic Care can supplement your primary treatment plan.

Symptoms

GI conditions can range from relatively minor to very serious. Common disorders include the following:

  • Constipation
  • Irritable bowel syndrome
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Perianal abscesses and infections
  • Colitis
  • Gastrointestinal Dysbiosis
  • And many more

The effectiveness of Functional Medicine and Chiropractic Treatment will depend on several factors. At Atlant Health, we adopt a complex and in-depth approach to your condition, and we will tailor treatment to suit your individual needs and circumstances.

Causes

There are a variety of causes that may lead to gastrointestinal problems. Medications, food allergies, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, and obesity all contribute to gastrointestinal issues.

Constipation

Intermittent constipation can be an annoyance, but chronic constipation interferes with your quality of life. For many, it is not only uncomfortable, but it is also painful. Symptoms include irregular bowel movements, difficulty in passing stools, bloated belly, and hard or small stools.

Several factors can cause constipation, ranging from too many dairy products, a lack of fiber, stress, and side effects of some medications. More serious causes include an underactive thyroid or neurological conditions. If you are experiencing chronic constipation, we urge you to seek a full diagnosis.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, is a very common condition affecting the large intestine. Symptoms of IBS include pain and cramps in the abdominal area, diarrhea, constipation, excessive gas, and mucus in your stools.

IBS can be cyclical, and people with the condition may experience periods where symptoms are non-existent and times when the condition worsens considerably.

If you experience more severe symptoms such as rectal bleeding, constant abdominal pain, or severe weight loss, then see your doctor as soon as possible. These symptoms may be indicative of a more serious underlying condition.

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids, also known as piles, are swollen veins in the anus and rectum, similar to varicose veins. Hemorrhoids are usually caused by pregnancy, obesity, or heavy lifting. Although hemorrhoids are hardly dangerous, they can be recurrent and are often uncomfortable. Hemorrhoids are typically easy to manage.

If your diet is low in fiber, you may want to consider increasing your intake. Avoid white sugar and white flour. It’s also important to drink plenty of water. The body responds to the correction of nerve pressure in the lower back or pelvis due to chiropractic work, and the blood vessels will regulate themselves and allow for relief of hemorrhoids.

Perianal Abscesses and Infections

If you are dealing with Crohn’s disease or IBS, you may have experienced a perianal abscess or infection. An abscess is a build-up of fluids in a location. For most instances of perianal abscesses, the fluid must be drained. Other causes of these abscesses include blocked glands and sexually transmitted infections.

Colitis

Colitis is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that causes long-term inflammation and ulcers in the digestive tract. Colitis can be debilitating and life-threatening. Treatment can greatly reduce symptoms and sometimes enable long-term remission.

Dysbiosis

Dysbiosis is a condition in the gastrointestinal tract, particularly in the small intestine, where conditions such as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) or Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO) may develop due to microbial imbalance or maladaptation.

Treatment

Depending on the diagnosis and symptoms of a gastrointestinal problem, there are a variety of treatment options to help relieve or eliminate symptoms or target the underlying cause. Traditional treatments can include:

  • Increase of fiber and water intake
  • Supplements to relieve inflammation
  • Natural and pharmaceutical antibacterial remedies
  • Change of diet to remove food allergens and sugars
  • Surgical interventions,
  • Chiropractic alignment
  • Addressing the brain-gut connection

Testing

Due to large variety and complexity of gastrointestinal disorders, approach to identify a root cause of a particular condition might require multiple functional and conventional medicine testing. Some might include scoping of the colon, stomach and small intestine; stool analysis and blood analysis from functional medicine perspective.

As one example, there are several ways to test for Chron’s flare-ups and IBS, there is some experimenting with different foods to see which ones trigger a reaction. This, along with blood testing to look for increased antibodies and inflammation.

When all data is collected and analyzed, a proper approach can be applied toward healing of identified disorder. These include personalized nutritional and dietary intervention.

In addition to the steps listed above, at Atlant Health we offer Bioenergetic testing with Asyra that can help identify underlying energetic imbalances that are not showing up in traditional lab tests. With these results, we can provide additional support toward healing.

The Brain-Gut Connection

There are 100 million nerves in the gut, which lends credence to the brain-gut connection that most cultures have intuitively known for millennia. The brain-gut connection is often neglected, as these usually work in synchrony. The brain communicates with the digestive tract via both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

If this finely-tuned system becomes imbalanced, it affects the absorption of nutrients, secretion of necessary digestive fluids, inflammation, and the speed at which food is processed. For many who experience daily stress and other strong emotions, the digestive system may suffer. Your chiropractic care can help align the spine, reducing the stress signals between the brain and vital organs.

At Atlant Health, we offer Neurocranial Integration (NCi) Technique that has profound effect on relugulating or resetting Vagus Nerve that is responsible for Gut-Brain communication. Neurocranial Integration (NCi) Technique has direct effect not just on the brain, but the whole spine and entire nervous system positively affecting all organs including the gastrointestinal tract.

Gastrointestinal Disease, Functional Medicine and Chiropractic

In addition to conventional and Functional Medicine approach, chiropractic care may help to reduce or alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal issues by lessening pain, reducing tension, improving blood flow, and normalizing the energy flow in your body. Chiropractic work focuses on the nervous system, which regulates all of the body’s functions.

Subluxations, or misalignments in the skeletal system, cause interference with the nervous system. Chiropractic care works to improve and repair these subluxations and provide relief for your spine. Chiropractic is in alignment with the holistic belief that the body is a self-healing organism, and sometimes a simple adjustment is all it takes to start feeling improvements.

Many people find that a course of chiropractic adjustments, especially in the area of your lower spine, may relieve constipation. The realignment of the spine puts the nerves and muscles back into their proper positions. This encourages the digestive system to work more optimally, leading to regular bowel movements and the resolution of lower back pain.

There is a substantial body of opinion that communication issues within your nervous system can be a primary cause of IBS. Efficient adjustment of the area of your spinal cord, which houses the relevant nerves, may lead to a reduction in symptoms and relief from discomfort and pain.

Chiropractic care can work to lessen Crohn’s flare-ups, which can reduce the occurrence of perianal abscesses and infections. By aligning the upper diaphragm, chiropractic can help to realign the nerves and muscles, releasing pressure and inflammation from improper posture.

These adjustments, in conjunction with supplements to help boost your digestive system and reduce inflammation, can provide relief for those who have Crohn’s disease.

Chiropractic adjustments to the spine allow for healthy nervous system response. This may help regulate and alleviate some of the symptoms of colitis. For those suffering from polyps, chiropractic care aligns the nerves and blood vessels. This restores healthy blood flow to the colon and may reduce polyps without surgical intervention.

Contact Us

At Atlant Health, we can help you with your gastrointestinal problems in conjunction with your primary care doctor’s treatments. Call us today at (212) 888-0520 and allow us to use the principles of Functional Medicine and Chiropractic Care to restore your gastrointestinal system to better health.

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