If you want to improve your musculoskeletal health and mobility, stretches and strength training can help. But did you know that your gut health also has an impact on your ability to perform everyday activities without pain, discomfort, or limited mobility in your muscles and joints? Understanding the connection can help you take actions that support an independent life.
Gut Health, Mobility, and Independence
“Gut health has a tremendous impact on musculoskeletal health,” explains Julie Johnson, DC, CFMP, an American Chiropractic Association (ACA) member. This is because the gut provides nourishment for our bodily functions and health. When it doesn’t function well, it opens the door to weakness and disease. “Over the long term, that reduces independence,” contributing to a lower quality of life, says Dr. Johnson.
Dr. Johnson has seen the impacts firsthand in both her mission work, where she worked with patients with tight and lean muscles due to low levels of nourishment, as well as in her current practice. “I experience the connection between gut and musculoskeletal health with every patient,” Dr. Johnson says, where the quality of their bones and muscle tissue directly affects their ability to perform activities of daily living (which include bathing and eating) independently.
What Causes Poor Gut Health?
Several things can contribute to poor gut health, says Dr. Johnson, including poor dietary choices, long-term stress, and medications that deplete nutrients. The modern diet and lifestyle can create uncomfortable symptoms to deal with today, but may also lead to health issues tomorrow. “Living as though gut health doesn’t matter and choosing not to become more invested in this area of life and health are strong contributors,” Dr. Johnson says.
Sometimes, our gut health can work against us, even if we’re trying to be healthier. One example is increasing your protein intake to improve your strength and mobility. “If there is inadequate stomach acid and an imbalance in gut bacteria, it’s going to be more difficult to digest food, especially protein,” says Dr. Johnson. “This can cause the protein that doesn’t adequately break down to sit in the stomach and rot,” she adds, creating more stress on an already-challenged system.
Tips to Improve Your Gut Health
If you’re interested in improving your gut health, here are some tips that can help:
1. Be honest with yourself. “One of the most important ways to start improving gut health is by getting honest about what you’re eating,” Dr. Johnson says. For example, keep a log of the foods you’re eating. While some apps record this information, writing it in a physical notebook may provide more advantages. “My experience is that most people benefit more from actually writing this down versus putting information into an app,” says Dr. Johnson, “because it changes the dynamic of how you’re interacting with that information.”
2. Follow a healthy diet. “Research has shown that the healthiest approach to every snack and/or meal is with a combination of a quality protein, complex carbohydrate, and healthy fat,” says Dr. Johnson. An example might be a piece of salmon with quinoa and sliced avocado, or Greek yogurt with nuts and berries. Also, focus on nutrient-dense foods, preferably those that are locally sourced, and limit your sugar intake.
3. Start small. Instead of trying to completely overhaul your life in one day, make one change at a time. “Starting with small changes creates the greatest opportunity for success,” says Dr. Johnson.
4. Reduce your stress. “Consistently being in fight or flight depletes zinc, a key nutrient needed by cells in the gut to produce adequate hydrochloric acid,” Dr. Johnson says. Stress hormones can also cause dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that helps control stomach acid. “This can lead to gastric contents going where they shouldn’t,” explains Dr. Johnson, “causing the heartburn so many millions suffer from.” So, work to lower your stress levels, especially before eating.
5. Understand the effects of your medications. Dr. Johnson offers another tip: pay attention to how the medications you’re taking may be impacting your gut health. For instance, research indicates that long-term use of proton pump inhibitors can deplete vitamin B12 and calcium. “If nutrients are being depleted, then these depletions must be addressed,” says Dr. Johnson, “or it will not only impact gut health but overall health as well.” (Editor’s Note: Chiropractors are trained to refer patients who require additional treatment to other types of providers when a patients’ health issue is outside their scope of practice.)
6. Ask your chiropractor for guidance. Talk to your chiropractic provider about how digestive enzymes may help. Research suggests that these enzymes are safe and well-tolerated, and that using this approach before referral to a specialist can be beneficial. “The evidence is clear that practitioners in our position can have a powerful role in entry-level recommendation of digestive enzymes to aid with digestion and gut health,” Dr. Johnson says.
Dr. Johnson’s philosophy on gut health is simple: Every choice you make either leads to balance that nourishes the body or imbalance that brings dysfunction. “When I explain to patients that improved gut health can help them hold their adjustment longer, feel better, and experience reduced symptoms for greater periods of time, the connection between gut health and musculoskeletal health becomes real and much more important,” she says.
Written by Christina DeBusk, a freelance contributor to Hands Down Better.
Reviewed by the ACA Editorial Advisory Board. This information is for educational purposes. It is not a replacement for treatment or consultation with a healthcare professional. If you have specific questions, contact your doctor of chiropractic. To find an ACA chiropractor near you, click here.
