A Lot to Digest
Hello and welcome to my blog!
Today I wanted to talk about an issue that an estimated 40% of Americans silently suffer from: digestive diseases! There are a variety of digestive diseases, with symptoms ranging from mild to life threatening. Some of the most common GI issues seen in our office include:
Chronic constipation; this effects 63 million Americans (1).
Hernias of the abdominal wall; effects 3.6 million Americans (2).
Reflux: effecting 20% of the population and hospitalizing 4.7 million Americans a year (3).
Inflammatory Bowel Disease: effecting 1.9 million Americans per year (2)
Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis: 978,000 Americans per year (4)
For many people, it can take years, multiple physicians, and plenty of uncomfortable/invasive tests to finally find a diagnosis. However, after all that, many patients are still left with the question of “why?”. Why do I have acid reflux? Why did I develope IBS? Why is my colon attacking every vegetable I eat? As discussed in previous blog posts, the “WHY” is just as important as the correct diagnosis. As a chiropractor, my perspective always directs me back to the brain and it’s effect on our health.
When a patient comes into the office with an organ issue, they usually have other comorbidities. A patient who is a diabetic may also have gallbladder issues and IBS. A patient who has Crohn’s disease may also have rheumatoid arthritis, and thyroid disease. Your organ systems never work individually, but are all working with or against each other all of the time. The brain controls every organ, every muscle, every tissue, every thought and sensation in our body. Logic reasons that if everything in the body “feels broken”, or if multiple organ issues are occurring but there seems to be no cause for these disease processes, then maybe the thing that CONTROLS everything is in need of assistance.
As chiropractors, we understand that the health of our central nervous system dictates the health of our entire being. So it follows that our gut health is dependent on our nervous system health as well! Here is a quick list of which vertebrae effect which organs:
Sphenoid, Occ, and C1: everything!
C2 sinuses, eyes, and ears
C3, face and lungs
C4 nose, lips, mouth, eustachian tube, and lungs
C5 vocal cords and lymph glands
C6 neck and shoulder muscles
C7 and C8 thyroid, shoulders and arms
T1-T7 control the esophagus and heart
T2-T3 Heart and Lungs
T4 gallbladder, heart and lungs
T5 liver, solar plexus, circulation, esophagus and stomach
T6 stomach, esophagus, liver, and duodenum
T7 kidneys, reproductive organs, adrenals, spleen, pancreas, and large intestine
T8 spleen, stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, small intestine
T9 Adrenals, pancreas, spleen, gallbladder, small intestine
T10 and T11 Kidney, appendix, reproductive organs, adrenals, spleen, pancreas, large intestine
T12 small intestine, lymphatics, large intestine, bladder
L1 large intestine
L2 abdomen, appendix bladder
L3 large intestine, prostate, bladder, sex organs
L4 prostate, sciatic nerve
L5 prostate, circulation, sciatic nerve
Our cerebral spinal fluid movement is also necessary for your spinal health and is responsible for moving waste products out of the brain and bringing nutrition into the brain as well as cushioning the brain when the body experiences concussive forces. It also “maintains the electrolytic environment of the central nervous system (CNS), influences systemic acid-base balance, allows the supply of nutrients to neuronal and glial cells, functions as a lymphatic system for the CNS by removing waste products of cellular metabolism, and transports hormones, neurotransmitters, releasing factors, and other neuropeptides” (6). Your CSF is influenced by the healthy movement of your spine, skull, heart beat and breath.
The gut is so important it’s commonly referred to as our ‘second brain’. This gut-brain connection allows for improved function and communication between the gut and brain through our hormones! Hormones are chemical substances secreted by glands and act as messengers by traveling to tissues and organs through the bloodstream to tell them how to work. There are more than 50 hormone genes produced or found in the gut that are in charge of its function and the function of the organs in our digestive system. The neural circuit between the gut and the brain needs to be running smoothly in order for the hormones to get to their correct organs with the correct message. The nervous system is our command center and without a fully functioning command center, our individual parts cannot work correctly.
In our office, we address your whole health by asking the body how, when, and where it needs an adjustment. Curious about “why” you have GI issues? Curious about how chiropractic can help your overall health and well-being? We are too! Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to schedule an appointment or consult.
ADIO,
Dr. Super
References:
Higgins PD, Johanson JF. Epidemiology of constipation in North America: a systematic review. American Journal of Gastroenterology. 2004;99:750–759.
Peery AF, Dellon ES, Lund J, et al. Burden of gastrointestinal disease in the United States: 2012 update. Gastroenterology. 2012;143:1179–1187.
CDC/NCHS national hospital discharge survey: United States, 2010. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhds External link. (PDF, 1,506 KB) * Accessed May 2, 2013.
Sandler RS, Everhart JE, Donowitz M, et al. The burden of selected digestive diseases in the United States. Gastroenterology. 2002;122:1500–1511.
https://www.brainandspinalcord.org/interactive-parts-of-the-spine-and-vertebrae-sectio
Whedon, J. M., & Glassey, D. (2009). Cerebrospinal fluid stasis and its clinical significance. Alternative therapies in health and medicine, 15(3), 54–60.