Norton Shores Michigan Chiropractor -- Frankly, when I became a Doctor of Chiropractic and envisioned what practice life would be and what conditions I would be helping people with, acid reflux specifically was not one of them.  I was not long in practice before patients would mention various digestive improvements throughout care even though they did not come in for that condition.  As I started paying more attention and studied it, it became apparent how may people suffer with digestive problems, specifically acid reflux.

Acid reflux medication accounts for a third of prescribed medications.  People also do not understand, or have no other choice, that these medications are only to be used for short periods (6 weeks) of time.  Yet I have patients who have been on these medications, like the purple pill, for years or even decades.

Besides the cost and side effects, people should be aware that there is a way to allow your body to function normally.  People do not make the connection to chiropractic and digestive trouble because there is not an understanding of how the spine effects the nervous system.  Either the stomach is producing too much acid or the muscles that keep the acid from going up your esophagus are not working correctly.  Both of these functions are controlled by nerves.  These nerves exit the spine just as those that control your finger movement.  We just don’t experience irritation to these nerves as pain, yet messages from the brain to the stomach are skewed and allow disfunction of the stomach.

At Zehr Chiropractic we take care to look for any source of nerve irritation that can occur in the upper neck where most of the nerves of the body have to travel.  More directly, there are four vertebrae located between the shoulder blades where the nerves to the stomach enter and exit.  Of these four there is one vertebrae that is most commonly found out of alignment when a patient is suffering from acid reflux, even with food getting caught on the way down.  With Zehr Chiropractic’s specific methods of correction, specific and painless adjustments are given to take the pressure off the corresponding nerve or nerves.

So if you are afraid of what to eat, when to eat or even where to eat due to acid reflux; if you are tired of paying for medication and their side effects, then Zehr Chiropractic may be able to help.  Some get relief immediately and some over a period of time, depending on severity.  Most get some significant improvement either way.

By the way, it will surprise many of you that acid reflux has become the new “colic” for babies.  Zehr Chiropractic has seen babies as early as two weeks old who have not stopped crying since birth and are not eating well.  Often mom is at the end of her rope and concerns of the baby refusing to eat become very real.  Often babies respond quickly with the baby and mom having their first hours of sleep and peace.