So Many People Seem To Have Low Back Pain AND IBS.....
I started my career as a McTimoney Chiropractor. Whilst going through people’s medical histories there were a number of patterns I noticed but didn’t understand at the time. One of them was the volume of patients with lower back pain who also had IBS.
Is this you too?
Within the context of my training this wasn’t relevant. So I just noted this information down and continued with the treatment that people had booked for.
All would become clear in time…
My Aha Moment
The penny didn’t fully drop until I trained as a Systematic Kinesiologist. You see these things were connected after all…
What I noticed was that a large percentage of people who attended for help with their lower back pain also had IBS. You could well think, well IBS is very common, so isn’t that just a coincidence? After all, it is estimated that 1-2 in 10 people suffer from IBS in the UK.
The thing is, it is more than a coincidence there is a link between the two. If you experience chronic and recurrent back pain and have IBS please read on.
Personal Experience Of IBS
Coincidentally, I used to have chronic lower back pain and constant pain along the outside of my upper thighs and suffered from IBS. It resolved after identifying that my body was not a fan of wheat and strengthening my digestive system through specific supplements. I just hadn’t realised the connection until I trained in Kinesiology myself.
Looking At IBS From A Different Angle
To give a broad outline within the context of Kinesiology. Your muscles not only link to the movement that they do e.g. your quads allow you to walk up the stairs, get in and out of a chair do a squat etc. In addition, every muscle in your body relates to an internal organ (Traditional Chinese Medicine).
Using the example of your quads that organ is your small intestine. So, if you experience pain or weakness in this muscle it could be a physical issue or from a Kinesiology perspective it could be due to diet and nutrition, emotions, or electrical systems (which could include electrosmog, maybe you need a blue light filter or energy dots as examples).
The Link Between IBS and Low Back Pain
Taking the understanding that the muscles mentioned can be connected with low back pain on a physical level and overlay that with the Kinesiology viewpoint of how our body is interconnected. Then you can see how taking a slightly different approach may change the outcome.
The beauty of Kinesiology is that we are able to identify what areas need addressing and what is the priority right now for your body to be able to regain balance.
There are several muscles that can have a direct link to the lower back all of which relate either to the small or large intestine. These are:
- Abdominal muscles
- Fascia Lata (on the outside of your upper leg)
- Hamstrings
- Quadratus lumborum (that’s the muscles that sit between your lower ribs and the top of the back of your pelvis)
- Quads
All of these muscles are involved with keeping your lower back and pelvis supported. When a muscle has everything that it needs then it would be strong. You would go about your day without a thought to your lower back.
Each muscle has its own nutritional wants and needs. We follow specific protocols to help regain balance which would be tailored to your individual needs and health. we can identify foods that are causing your symptoms so that you can stop the cycle. Plus we can find out which foods you need to be eating more of and the supplements that will help you to recover.
Examples Of Life Events That Can Create Symptoms
In addition, each muscle has emotions connected to them. One emotion for this area is grief. The first thought when mentioning grief is that it relates to the death of a loved one. Whilst this may be relevant, grief can also be related to:
- Being made redundant from a job/role you wanted to stay in.
- Losing contact with a friend.
- Having a house move forced on you.
- No longer being with someone you loved.
Grief relates to losing something that would still choose to have in your life. This loss causes some level of distress.
Emotions that are still present and active in your thoughts will also be having a physical impact. You know this is relevant if you think of something/someone and negative emotions come with it e.g. grief, anger, hurt, frustration etc. We also cover other emotions and how they link to physical pain in an article covering other causes of musculoskeletal pain.
There are a number of options that we can use within a session in order to release the emotional charge of these events so that they are no longer holding you back preventing your symptoms from improving.
So, as you can see if you have chronic and recurrent low back pain AND you experience IBS, then taking a slightly different approach could resolve both. If you’d like to find out more about Systematic Kinesiology then follow the link for more. Sessions are available online over Zoom and in-person in Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset to anyone in the UK.
Whilst I am no longer registered as a Chiropractor, having de-registered in December 2022. I do still practise the McTimoney technique near Kingsbury Episcopi, Somerset. I do this alongside other treatments that I have found to enhance recovery as you will see from this blog.
