GI Disorders Treatment for Better Digestive Health

Get insights into GI disorder treatment strategies that can help restore balance and improve overall gastrointestinal health.

What Are GI Disorders?

How often do you feel bloated after eating a large meal? Do you experience constipation or inflammatory effects in your gut? Or do you experience stiffness in your joints and muscles? Many people don’t realize that environmental factors can affect their gut system and cause numerous overlapping risk profiles in the body by extending their impact onto the musculoskeletal system, thus causing pain-like symptoms that often mimic musculoskeletal disorders. Gastrointestinal (GI) disorders are usually common, depending on the severity, and can be a challenge to manage while having significant medical and social effects. (Malone et al., 2018) Some common GI disorder conditions include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). GI disorders can contribute to chronic pain, joint stiffness, and muscle dysfunction within the musculoskeletal system. By understanding the gut-musculoskeletal connection, many individuals can look for functional, non-surgical options that can relieve and improve their quality of life.

 

How GI Disorders Affect The Gut & Musculoskeletal System

Environmental factors play a key part in developing GI disorders, and many people wonder how they can affect their guts and muscles. Stress is one environmental factor that can affect the gut and muscles. Stress can affect a person physically and psychologically, causing the gut bacteria to respond differently and leading to GI disorders. (Konturek et al., 2011)

 

Inflammation & Systemic Effects

 When GI disorders start to affect the body, they cause inflammation to develop and attach themselves to the affected area, causing issues to the gut. When inflammation begins to affect the gut system, it can induce low-grade inflammation and affect the gut barrier integrity while disrupting regular nutrient and food digestion. (Casini et al., 2024) This can lead to chronic GI conditions that incorporate inflammatory components like Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis. This, in turn, can trigger systemic inflammation in the musculoskeletal system by releasing cytokines and inflammatory mediators into circulation, causing symptoms of muscle pain, joint stiffness, and fatigue.

 

Nutrient Malabsorption & Deficiencies

Conditions like Celiac Disease, IBD, and chronic diarrhea can impair nutrient absorption, leading to deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals that can cause muscle cramps, weakness, and joint pain, which are often mistaken for fibromyalgia or arthritis.

 

Gut Dysbiosis & The Nervous System

 The gut system, known as the “second brain,” has a unique relationship with the nervous system. Since the gut has trillions of bacteria and helps transport the nutrients from consumed food to different bodies, an imbalance in gut bacteria (dysbiosis) can contribute to developing a leaky gut. This allows toxins to enter the bloodstream and trigger the immune response. This leads to widespread inflammation and musculoskeletal discomfort, causing the gut to affect the musculoskeletal system’s pain and quality of life. (Casini et al., 2024) At the same time, the gut-brain axis plays a role in regulating pain perception and muscle function.

 

Visceral-Somatic Reflexes & Referred Pain

GI disorders can create referred pain patterns, where visceral discomfort is perceived in the musculoskeletal system. Chronic abdominal pain or discomfort is a symptom of visceral pain hypersensitivity (Farmer & Aziz, 2009). For example, GERD can cause chest and upper back pain, while IBS can lead to lower back and pelvic discomfort due to visceral-somatic reflexes.

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Fighting Inflammation Naturally: Video

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Functional & Nonsurgical Approaches To Reduce GI Pain

Many people start by researching holistic and functional approaches to reduce the severe symptoms when treating GI disorders associated with musculoskeletal symptoms. At the same time, many people will go to non-surgical treatments to discuss with a pain specialist about their symptoms, thus coming up with a customizable treatment plan. Here are evidence-based, non-surgical strategies to address both gut and musculoskeletal discomfort:

 

Dietary Modifications

Making small changes to improve gut health can start with a healthy diet. A healthy diet can provide energy, body growth, and repair and affect and regulate several important functions of the body, including gastrointestinal hormones. (El-Salhy, 2019). Incorporating foods that are rich in omega-3s and polyphenols can help reduce the inflammatory effects from the gut by removing trigger foods that cause overlapping pain symptoms to be alleviated. Some diets that can help with GI disorders include:

• Anti-Inflammatory Diet
• Elimination Diet
• FODMAP Diet

 

Pro-& Prebiotics

Regarding gut health, probiotics, and prebiotics can help restore and balance gut bacteria flora. Probiotics have beneficial bacteria that help rebalance the gut microbiome and reduce inflammation, while prebiotics incorporate fiber-rich foods to feed the beneficial gut bacteria and support gut health. Incorporating these two helps restore the dynamic balance between the microflora and host defense mechanisms within the intestinal mucosa, thus preventing the onset of intestinal inflammation. (Roy & Dhaneshwar, 2023)

 

Stress Management

Reducing stressors from environmental factors that cause GI disorders associated with musculoskeletal pain allows the body to relax and helps relax the tense muscles. Some of the techniques people can utilize include:

• Mindfulness and Meditation: Yoga, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation can reduce gut sensitivity and pain perception.
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) can help manage stress-induced GI symptoms and improve pain tolerance.

 

Manual Therapies

Manual therapies can help reduce GI disorders associated with musculoskeletal pain. Massage therapists, physical therapists, and chiropractors can incorporate various techniques to help stretch and strengthen weak muscle areas and help reduce the inflammatory effects in the body. Some of these therapies include:

• Osteopathic Manipulative Therapy (OMT): Helps relieve referred pain and improve gut motility.
• Visceral Manipulation: A hands-on therapy that releases restrictions in the abdomen, improving digestion and alleviating musculoskeletal tension.
• Massage Therapy: Can reduce stress-related gut symptoms and relieve tension in the back and abdominal muscles.

 

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been shown to reduce IBS-related pain and improve gut motility by stimulating the autonomic nervous system. Acupuncturists use small, thin needles to be placed in various acupoints of the body to relieve the individual. Acupuncture involves neuromodulation and adjusting and repairing the gut microbiota and intestinal barrier. (Li et al., 2023)

 

Conclusion

The interplay between GI disorders and the musculoskeletal system is unique, as both have overlapping risk profiles that correlate. Understanding this connection allows for more effective treatments to reduce GI disorders. Incorporating functional, non-surgical approaches—such as dietary changes, gut microbiome support, manual therapies, stress management, and movement-based therapies, can offer holistic solutions to alleviate GI-related musculoskeletal pain.  Making these small changes in a person’s daily routine, from exercising to healthy dieting, can help address the root cause of dysfunction, allowing people to achieve lasting relief and improved well-being.

 

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Injury Medical & Functional Medicine Clinic

We associate with certified medical providers who understand the importance of the effects of GI disorders on not only the gut system but also the musculoskeletal system. While asking important questions to our associated medical providers, we advise patients to implement small changes like physical activities and small dietary changes to their diet to reduce the chances of GI disorders from returning. Dr. Alex Jimenez, D.C., envisions this information as an academic service. Disclaimer.

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References

Casini, I., Massai, L., Solomita, E., Ortenzi, K., Pieretti, S., & Aloisi, A. M. (2024). Gastrointestinal Conditions Affect Chronic Pain and Quality of Life in Women. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 21(11). doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21111435

El-Salhy, M. (2019). Nutritional Management of Gastrointestinal Diseases and Disorders. Nutrients, 11(12). doi.org/10.3390/nu11123013

Farmer, A. D., & Aziz, Q. (2009). Visceral pain hypersensitivity in functional gastrointestinal disorders. Br Med Bull, 91, 123-136. doi.org/10.1093/bmb/ldp026

Konturek, P. C., Brzozowski, T., & Konturek, S. J. (2011). Stress and the gut: pathophysiology, clinical consequences, diagnostic approach and treatment options. J Physiol Pharmacol, 62(6), 591-599. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22314561

Li, X., Liu, S., Liu, H., & Zhu, J. J. (2023). Acupuncture for gastrointestinal diseases. Anat Rec (Hoboken), 306(12), 2997-3005. doi.org/10.1002/ar.24871

Malone, M., Waheed, A., & Samiullah, S. (2018). Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: Functional Lower Gastrointestinal Disorders in Adults. FP Essent, 466, 21-28. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29528206

Roy, S., & Dhaneshwar, S. (2023). Role of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics in management of inflammatory bowel disease: Current perspectives. World J Gastroenterol, 29(14), 2078-2100. doi.org/10.3748/wjg.v29.i14.2078

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