REALLY? Heartburn and your back

Shane is one heck of a hard worker and a darn great dad who knows exactly how to have fun, but he was struggling with off-and-on heartburn since having switched his job a few years ago. He spent months trying to find which works best: Tums or Rolaids? Zantac? Pepto-Bismol? It was almost more frustrating that some days—without any obvious rhyme or reason—there was no heartburn at all! “I’m still eating the same food as always and I’m still drinking my coffee.” 

Shane started getting regular adjustments to relieve his “got-out-of-bed-too-fast-one-morning” low back pain; but he quickly made the connection that he wasn’t getting any heartburn since he started getting his back adjusted! 

He has it figured out, now. It turns out that too much computer time makes his back tight, and he will consequently start to experience heartburn and reflux. After he gets adjusted his acid reflux and heartburn symptoms disappear, and they stay away (until those long hours at the computer, again). Shane felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders when he made the connection between his heartburn, his computer time and his back’s alignment. He seemed like himself again and is free without worrying about if-and-when his heartburn would wreck his day. 

We actually see multiple folks each week with similar scenarios.  

How could that be? Well, here’s the short answer: your spine has nerves that branch out and connect to different parts of the body. The nerves that connect to your upper tummy come out of the spine in the area that’s between your shoulder blades. When the alignment of your spine is pulled even slightly out of whack in that area it stresses the nerves going to (and coming from) your tummy. Often the result is heartburn or acid reflux symptoms. That mid-back region also affects the diaphragm which—when it gets tight—can also lead to reflux. It’s all connected!

Of course, chiropractic adjustments are not necessarily the cure-all, but a healthy, well-functioning spine helps ensure that your communication system (nervous system) is running at optimum efficiency. When your spine gets out of whack, it triggers the degenerative process and can wear out its parts way ahead of schedule. We encourage you to take good care of it long before the onset of a crisis.