Can spinal subluxation affect digestion?

The nerves that supply the digestive organs exit the spine, and subluxation interferes with that nerve flow. In this case a 76-year-old woman had ten years of alternating constipation and diarrhea alongside a severe lumbar subluxation and a reversed lumbar curve. Her care was subluxation correction, and her digestive function improved from daily episodes to about once a week.

What does a reversed lumbar curve mean on a lateral X-ray?

The low back is designed with a forward curve called a lordosis. On a lateral (side view) X-ray that curve is measured in degrees against a normal value. When the curve flattens or bends the opposite way it is described as a reversal, and the spine carries load in a position it was not designed for. This patient's films measured a 40.4% overall loss of normal curve at her initial examination.

Is 76 too old for chiropractic structural correction?

Age is not what determines whether a spine responds. This patient was 76 and her structure changed over three months of specific adjustments, with her lumbar angulation improving 42% and her curve improving 8%. Her body expressed better function at 76, the same way it is designed to at any age.

Can chiropractic care help radiating pain into both legs?

Radiating pain into the legs is feedback that something is interfering with nerve flow through the low back. We correct the subluxations the films reveal, and the body responds. In this case the radiating pain into both her legs resolved completely.

What happens if a patient can only commit to part of the recommended care plan?

Her alignment and spinal condition called for a 6 to 9 month corrective plan. She does not drive and lives about 35 minutes away, so three months was what she could commit to. We corrected what we could correct in that window, and her Quality of Life improved substantially. The recommendation is based on the spine, and the plan is built around the person.

Lumbar Subluxation and Curve Reversal — Before and After X-Rays

How She Arrived

In this month's Spinal Correction Spotlight I want to walk through the case of a 76-year-old woman. She was referred to us by a family who have been members here for the last four years under maintenance care, and I appreciate the confidence they had in me and in subluxation based chiropractic to send someone they love.

She had been suffering with severe, right sided abdominal pain for more than ten years without relief from conventional medicine. Along with that she had radiating pain into both of her legs, severe digestive discomfort and abnormalities that alternated between constipation and diarrhea, and moderate to severe abdominal swelling. These symptoms would prevent her from walking at times, and she was becoming increasingly confined to her house because of the pain.

What Her Films Showed

Her initial films were taken August 15, 2022. The lumbar views showed a severe lumbar subluxation spinal deviation, and on the lateral view (the side view) a reversal of her normal lumbar curve. Her lateral film measured an ARA of -23.8° against a normal value of -40.0°, which is a 40.4% overall loss of the curve she is designed to have.

These spinal positions produce increased stress on the spine, which commonly translates to advanced disc degeneration, as well as deteriorating physiological changes in function, due to the disruption in nerve flow — the pressure the bones are applying to the nerves. It was easy to deduce and correlate the detrimental effects on her physiology (function) due to the negative condition and alignment of her anatomy (structure).

Clinical Findings — Initial Examination

Patient: 76-year-old female, referred by a family under maintenance care with us for four years

Presenting complaints: Severe right sided abdominal pain for more than 10 years, radiating pain into both legs, alternating constipation and diarrhea, moderate to severe abdominal swelling, walking limited

X-ray type: AP lumbar and lateral lumbar

Initial X-ray: August 15, 2022 — severe lumbar deviation; lateral ARA -23.8° against -40.0° normal, 40.4% overall loss of curve

Re-evaluation X-ray: December 14, 2022 — lumbar angulation improved 42%, lumbar lordosis improved 8%, overall loss reduced to 35.7%

Care span: 3 months of corrective care between films

Outcome: Radiating leg pain resolved completely; digestive abnormalities and swelling from daily to once weekly, and from 10/10 to 1/10

Lumbar AP — Before & After

August 15, 2022 initial AP lumbar X-ray showing severe lumbar subluxation spinal deviation in a 76-year-old female, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Aug 15, 2022 Initial X-Ray

December 14, 2022 re-evaluation AP lumbar X-ray after three months of subluxation-based corrective care showing 42 percent improvement in lumbar angulation, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — Dec 14, 2022 Re-Evaluation

Lumbar Lateral — Before & After

August 15, 2022 initial lateral lumbar X-ray showing reversal of the normal lumbar curve with ARA negative 23.8 degrees and 40.4 percent overall loss from normal, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

Before — Aug 15, 2022 Initial X-Ray

December 14, 2022 re-evaluation lateral lumbar X-ray showing overall loss from normal reduced to 35.7 percent after three months of corrective care, Rochet Family Chiropractic Royal Palm Beach

After — Dec 14, 2022 Re-Evaluation

The Care Plan She Could Commit To

Her spinal alignment and condition dictated a 6 to 9 month initial corrective care plan. She does not drive and she lives about 35 minutes away, so she was only able to agree to a 3-month correction plan. Life happens, and we corrected what we could correct in the time she had.

Three Months Later

The angulation of her lumbar spine was reduced and improved by 42%. The lumbar lordosis, her lumbar curve, was improved by 8%. That does not sound like much. However, her physiological presentations changed dramatically.

The radiating pain into both her legs resolved completely. The abdominal swelling and the digestive function abnormalities reduced from daily to about once a week, and from debilitating at 10 out of 10 down to mild at 1 out of 10. She had carried those symptoms for more than ten years. Even at 76 years old, we were able to help her body express better function, and the films confirm that her structure changed alongside it. That is a testament to the Innate Intelligence in each and every one of us.

What This Case Shows

Subluxation interferes with how the nervous system runs the body, and the body adapts around it for as long as it can. Symptoms are feedback letting you know that something may be wrong. She had ten years of that feedback in her abdomen, her digestion and her legs while the structural cause sat in her low back.

I am not the healer. I move the bone; God does the healing. You are a self-healing organism, and when you are subluxation free, not only does your spine heal, but your body expresses life the way you were created to.

Ten Years Is a Long Time to Carry Something

If you have symptoms that have never been explained, your spine deserves a structural evaluation. Come in for an X-ray analysis and find out what your own films show.

Have Your Spine Checked for Subluxation

Or call us at (561) 795-3156