DIGESTIVE CONDITIONS

If you suffer from bloating, diarrhea, heartburn, constipation, gas,  abdominal pain or any other digestive concerns, we can help!

Naturopathic Medicine can help you to feel better. There are a variety of causes for digestive complaints; however, among the top are food sensitivities. When the body is sensitive to a food, this causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract (among other places), which leads to digestive symptoms. Food sensitivities are hard to identify because a reaction can occur up to 3 days after consuming the food culprit. If the cause of your digestive condition is related to a food sensitivity, a visit with one of our Naturopathic Doctors would involve food sensitivity testing or an elimination diet in order to determine your individual sensitivities. In addition, a treatment protocol would be initiated to heal your inflamed digestive tract.

Osteopathy may help by balancing the nervous system, circulation, lymph and pressure gradients in the body and aiming to release any restrictions that inhibit the body from healing. Everybody’s assessment will have similarities but each treatment will be unique to them.  An osteopath may assist in symptom management by releasing sympathetic tension in the spine including the phrenic nerve that innervates the diaphragm. They may also perform cranial sacral work to balance the vagus nerve.

Acupuncture may also help by regulating the nervous system to reduce stress-related digestive concerns. Acupuncture also lowers inflammation in the digestive tract, improves gut motility and smooth muscle function, balances the production of digestive enzymes and can relieve nausea and vomiting.

Pelvic health physiotherapy may help manage things such as constipation, bloating and more. Pelvic floor muscles need to relax to be able to poop. Constipation can occur if rectal pelvic floor muscles tighten instead of relaxing during a bowel movement. Scar tissue from abdominal surgeries can affect fascia mobility and contribute to abdominal pain and constipation. Abdominal distention and bloating can occur when our abdominal muscles relax when they should be contracting and the diaphragm contracts when it should be relaxing during digestion. Pelvic floor physiotherapy may help these problems by using a range of treatments that may include manual therapy, soft tissue work, techniques to retrain pelvic floor muscles and to improve coordination between the diaphragm and the abdomen muscles. Pelvic health physiotherapists can teach you toileting tips, gentle stretches, self massage techniques and breathing exercises to stimulate rest and digest.