What better way to spend the festive season than being pain-free!  But how does chronic pain interfere with this process and how does this add to your emotional burden?

The festive season is packed with jollity and feasting. You shouldn’t have to suffer through it with an unhappy digestive system or spine. If neither are in tip-top condition, the season is likely to less than festive.

How are your spine and your digestive system connected?

The spinal cord is a central part of the nervous system. As such it’s pivotal to regulating your mood, muscle function, and digestion. Your spinal cord carries messages between your brain and the rest of your body. That includes the gut-brain connection. If your spine is misaligned, your digestive system will also be out of whack.

The reverse is also true. If your gut is unhappy – gut dysbiosis – it will affect your spine. Sounds odd, but it’s true. New research shows that gut dysbiosis can have a serious impact on your intervertebral discs and the possibility of their degeneration.

6 Ways great gut micro-biomes and healthy spines interact

1. When your gut micro-biomes are healthy you are actively keeping your spine and overall musculoskeletal health in great form:
2. Improving the function of your nervous system will aid your digestion.
3. Reducing the inflammation will reduce the possibility of developing gut dysbiosis.
4. Improving the nutrient absorption and metabolism throughout your body improves your overall health.
5. Better supporting your muscle function and flexibility.
6. Dramatically reducing the impact of stress will have a positive impact on your digestive system.

But it’s not just about your spine or your digestive system

When either, or both, of your spine and digestive system are out of whack it also affects your mental health. Changes in your ability to handle stress, stay upbeat and positive, feel relaxed and calm, and be less affected by pain. Our bodies are a completely integrated unit. A bit like a fridge. If the fuse in the plug of a fridge goes, the whole fridge doesn’t work. And yet the fuse is probably the smallest element in the complete system of a working fridge.

5 Ways to keep your complete system working

• A Healthy Diet – What you eat and drink matters more than you know. Include fibre, probiotics, and anti-inflammatory foods and nutrients into your meals. Identify and eliminate any food intolerances you may have.
• Drink more water – It supports all your bodily functions and your spinal disc health.
• Exercise – Daily exercise will encourage better circulation and reduce inflammation. And muscles in good working order will give your spine the support it needs.
• Practice meditation and stretching exercises – Combined with gentle stretching exercises, meditation is an easy way to clear your mind of stress, and stress is very bad for your gut health.
• Go to sleep! – A consistent, early-to-bed, seven to nine hours of sleep routine supports good gut microbiome balance, spinal recovery, and excellent day-to-day stress management.

Yours in health,
Dr. Monica and Helen