According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK),
60 to 70 million Americans are affected by a digestive disease. Unfortunately, this only accounts for those individuals who have been diagnosed with a digestive issue. Many people suffer from some type of digestive issue that could go undiagnosed for years, including but not limited to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), chronic constipation, and/or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Fortunately, there are ways to treat digestive issues that are gentle, holistic, and effective. At Arise Acupuncture, we understand how important it is to optimize your digestion. As such, we treat patients with acupuncture services and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to help balance digestion, release stress, and ease symptoms of gastrointestinal irritation. Today, we go over how acupuncture helps with digestion.
How Does Acupuncture Help with Digestive Issues?
Acupuncture helps with digestive issues because it calms your nervous system, balancing the gut-brain connection. An overactive sympathetic nervous system can greatly impact how your body digests food. Acupuncture also helps with digestion as it treats an individual holistically, looking at how your mind and body are functioning collectively. At Arise Acupuncture, we consider what might be going on in your mind mentally as well as physically when we treat you.
The root cause of a digestive issue is often stress, improper diet, poor sleeping habits, and/or other lifestyle choices. Acupuncture can help get to the root cause of these issues and treat them accordingly.
Acupuncture treatments can be performed in conjunction with traditional Chinese herbal medicine to heal digestive disorders. Chinese herbs such as ginger can be taken to improve digestion and reduce inflammation.
Which Digestive Issues Can You Treat with Acupuncture?
Acupuncture can treat a wide variety of digestive Issues. Some of the common conditions we treat at Arise Acupuncture include but are not limited to the following:
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Gas and bloating
Chronic constipation
Diarrhea or loose stools
Crohn’s disease
Gastritis
Abdominal pain
GERD and acid reflux
Acupuncture for Constipation
Acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment for constipation. Studies have shown that acupuncture stimulates peristalsis in the intestinal tract, which helps your body move or eliminate a stool. Acupuncture also treats the additional symptoms that can come with constipation including stomach pains, cramps, bloating, and distention.
Acupuncture helps the body tap into the parasympathetic nervous system, encouraging relaxation and restoring your normal bodily functions, such as defecation.
Acupuncture for IBS
At Arise Acupuncture, we also treat IBS to help patients find relief from pain, reduce bloating, and kickstart the body’s natural healing response. Acupuncture stimulates your nervous system in a way that releases chemicals and hormones that relieves chronic pain and stress. Stress can exacerbate IBS and IBS can also increase stress on the body. Acupuncture helps alleviate stress and anxiety, which has helped many patients reduce their symptoms of IBS.
Are you interested in learning more about how acupuncture can help with your digestion? Schedule an acupuncture consultation today by getting in touch with us online.