![\"inflamed](\"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/c2tblog-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/inflammed-belly-450x450.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nBeing in constant pain or worry\nabout needing to find a bathroom makes even the most routine tasks miserable,\ntiring, and anxiety producing. It becomes a natural reflex to stay home in\norder to avoid embarrassing situations. No one wants to limit themselves. But\nwhat do you do when you can\u2019t seem to find the thing that brings relief?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve lived this in varying\ndegrees for over 20 years. I became gluten-free in 2003. Eliminating gluten\nhelped. Eliminating dairy products helped. But it was only in the last year\nthat I discovered eating low histamine foods would vastly improve my lingering\nsymptoms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I\u2019ve experimented with dietary\nchanges, I\u2019ve also explored the effects of stress and ways to rein in feelings\nthat overwhelm my system. I have no doubt the function of my digestive system\nis related to the function of my emotional regulation system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Recently, I\u2019ve explored using\nacupressure to calm the vagus nerve. Mind you, I\u2019m early in the learning\nprocess. I haven\u2019t really found any documentation that indicates acupressure\nwill be effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What I did discover were some small studies that researched the effects of acupressure on post-operative hysterectomy<\/a> and colorectal cancer<\/a> patients. If these studies hold true in larger numbers, it appears that adding acupressure to post-op care could result in better bowel motility and quicker, less painful recovery. That sounds positive to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acupressure has also been effective in reducing post-operative nausea<\/a> experienced after general anesthesia. Acupressure can also reduce vomiting when no antiemetic medication is used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If acupressure can reduce nausea\nand vomiting in a post-op situation, I\u2019m wondering whether it can work for\nstress or trauma related nausea and IBS. It seems possible given that the\nphysical mechanisms involved may be the same or similar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n There are many websites and books\ntouting acupressure as effective trauma treatment. They may all offer great\ntools. I do not know. I haven\u2019t tried any of their techniques and I haven\u2019t yet\nfound randomized, controlled trials to confirm anecdotal improvement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n If your doctor indicates\nacupressure will not create complications for your existing health conditions, I\nsee no harm in giving it a try. If it works, you don\u2019t need anyone to prove it\nto you. If it doesn\u2019t, you can stop including it in your health plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minimally invasive, non-pharmaceutical\ninterventions that result in a healthier gut will complement the dietary\nchanges you make. This can lead to generally feeling better and having less\nneed for isolation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I see lots of possibilities for acupressure as a tool for gastrointestinal improvement in situations beyond post-op recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Can we consider acupressure for gastrointestinal improvement? Directly or indirectly, a lot of us adopt specialized diets because our gastrointestinal system causes us distress. Sometimes we adopt the change because of a specific diagnosis. Sometimes it\u2019s because we can see an observable difference in how we feel when we avoid certain foods. Sometimes, we\u2019re at … Continue reading “Acupressure For Gastrointestinal Improvement”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2538],"tags":[3370,2728,1836,3372,3371],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5082"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5088,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5082\/revisions\/5088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cooking2thrive.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}