If you suffer from GERD or heartburn, you may have tried to treat the symptoms with over-the-counter medications. These can be expensive and often ineffective. The Chiropractic profession is one of the few professions that treat the underlying cause for many conditions. This is why many people with GERD and heartburn are turning to chiropractors as their first line of treatment. Chiropractors can often help patients eliminate these symptoms with just a few treatments!
Chiropractors are trained in natural methods of treating these conditions without the side effects that come with traditional medications. If you are looking for a chiropractor in Los Angeles, contact Dr. Steven Becker today!
What is GERD?
GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease, and it’s a condition in which the contents of your stomach back up into your esophagus. This can lead to heartburn or acid regurgitation, weight loss, difficulty swallowing, and oesophagitis. These symptoms are caused by pressure from food being forced back through the lower esophageal sphincter (LES).
The LES opens to allow swallowed food into the stomach but closes after this occurs so that gastric juices do not return up towards the throat and cause discomfort. Patients with GERD fail to feel the LES close which leads to symptoms.
Symptoms of GERD:
– Heartburn, indigestion, or chest pain that doesn’t go away with antacids or over-the-counter medications. This is because those treatments only reduce stomach acid and do not treat the cause of reflux.
– Feeling full after eating a relatively light meal (consider food allergies)Â
– Nausea
– Vomiting
– Difficulty swallowing food or liquids, often with an audible “gurgling” soundÂ
– Hoarseness of voice due to acid irritation.
What is Heartburn?
Heartburn or pyrosis is a condition in which stomach acid flows up through the esophagus, irritating and damaging it. This can lead to inflammation of the esophagus (oesophagitis) and an increased risk for strokes due to high blood pressure on the weakened muscle tissue around that area in your chest.
Treatment options
Your chiropractor may recommend lifestyle changes such as:
- Losing weight and quitting smoking, taking medications for GERD if necessary (there are many different types)
- Adjusting the LES through chiropractic care
- Strengthening stomach muscles by practicing good posture (sitting up straight) while eating.
- Avoiding foods that trigger reflux in some people like fatty foods and acidic drinks.Â
It’s not just about treating symptoms; chiropractors are trained to treat underlying causes as well! Chiropractic adjustments help improve digestion by reducing stress on muscles near organs like the stomach, intestines, and liver. Even when you don’t have GERD or heartburn right now, if you experience other digestive issues such as constipation, bloating, or irregular bowel movements, you should talk to your chiropractor!
Chiropractors are trained to diagnose and treat the source of these digestive issues. They have a holistic approach to treating symptoms such as heartburn because they know that there is more than one reason for them showing up in the first place. When all aspects of our health are treated holistically, then you can be sure that any pain will not reappear in other areas later down the line!
Treating Nerve Communication with Chiropractic Care
The spine is the center of nerve communication. The spinal cord transmits information to your brain that controls everything from thinking and feeling to moving muscles in the body. It passes this information through nerve roots on its way up to the spine by branching out into nerves of varying sizes at different levels along its length. When more of these nerves are pinched or irritated, they lose their ability to transmit messages efficiently, leading to a variety of health problems such as back pain, sciatica (nerve pain down the leg), headaches which may be due to pinched nerves, or GERD and heartburn symptoms. Chiropractic care may help improve nerve function and reduce the frequency of these symptoms by adjusting how your spine is aligned through a treatment called spinal manipulation.
Why Chiropractors?
Chiropractors are trained to determine where your spine may be misaligned or not functioning correctly. When your spinal alignment isn’t correct, it affects all of your organs, including those that produce digestive juices necessary for proper digestion. A chiropractor will typically adjust the patient’s spine to have a better function from their brainstem through their entire body – improving digestion as well!
If you have been suffering from these digestive disorders, it may be a good idea to talk to your chiropractor about how they could help relieve some of your discomforts by helping improve nerve communication through adjustments made at the spinal column. Severe cases might require other treatments, but most patients find relief from their symptoms through an initial visit.
A chiropractor can determine if you are suffering from health problems caused by pinched nerves and offer an effective solution in order to get back on track with living life comfortably again! Visit Dr. Steven Becker – Los Angeles Chiropractor office today for more information. Dr. Steven Becker has been practicing chiropractic medicine for decades, so trust him when it comes to getting you feeling like yourself again!
