Heart Burn

I had I interesting conversation when I was attending the Installation Dinner for the new board of the El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce.  I was sitting at the table with a group of people when the conversation moved in an interesting direction.  Someone was talking about food and mentioned heart burn.  I made the simple statement of “You should never have heart burn.”  By the looks of the many people at the table and the strange contorting of their heads; it was as if I almost said something foreign.

We have grown into a society that accepts heart burn as common place.  People buy over-the-counter medications for heart burn no differently than they would purchase one of their favorite food choices ie. Tums, Rolaids, Prilosec, and others.  When the over-the-counter medications do not work, people either up the doses beyond what is the manufacturer’s recommendation or seek assistance from their medical doctor for a prescription to alleviate the symptoms.

Over-the-counter medications work to either absorb or block the production of stomach acid.  Bear in mind, we need our stomach acid for the digestion of our food.  What if the over production of stomach acid was not the problem for your heart burn problem. 

The natural food path is for things to pass through the esophagus and into the stomach.  There is a sphincter (muscle) at the top of your digestive track just as there is one at the bottom.  These muscles are there to keep things contained so our food can digest appropriate and in a reasonable amount of time.

When you may experience heart burn, the muscle at the top of stomach is possibly not working correctly.  It does not constrict the esophagus as much as it should, and thus, allows for the leakage of stomach acid into the esophagus.  The acid leaking into the esophagus causes the burning you may experience, and we call heart burn. 

When you talk with a chiropractor about heart burn, they will automatically think of the lack of neurological stimuli making it to the muscle just above the stomach, which would cause a flaccid, weak muscle.  Chiropractors know the area of the mid-back which is most likely the root of your problem for heart burn symptoms. 

The proof is in the believing.  I have someone dear to me that used to experience heart burn symptoms, but no longer.  At her first episode, I asked her if she would like me to adjust her.  She did not believe an adjustment would help.  I explained as I did above and she relented.  We carried on a conversation for a few minutes, post adjustment, and then I asked about her heart burn.  She had forgotten and the symptoms were gone.  Over the next year, I went through many of the same circumstances with her, with her always surprised at the outcome and her heart burn symptoms going away. 

Heart burn symptoms are not something to take lightly.  Many years of heart burn can lead to severe and serious injury to the esophagus.  At Savage Chiropractic, Dr. Savage has the knowledge to assist you to alleviate your problem.  Call Savage Chiropractic for your appointment today.