Acid Reflux

What Is Acid Reflux Disease?

At the entrance to your stomach is a valve, which is a ring of muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). Normally, the LES closes as soon as food passes through it. If the LES doesn't close all the way or if it opens too often, acid produced by your stomach can move up into your esophagus. This can cause symptoms such as a burning chest pain called heartburn. If acid reflux symptoms happen more than twice a week, you have acid reflux disease, also known as gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD).

What are the symptoms of acid reflux disease?

Common symptoms of acid reflux are:

Heartburn -- a burning pain or discomfort that may move from your stomach to your abdomen or chest, or even up into your throat
Regurgitation -- a sour or bitter-tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth

Other symptoms of acid reflux disease include:

Bloating
Bloody or black stools or bloody vomiting
Burping
Dysphagia -- a narrowing of your esophagus, which creates the sensation of food being stuck in your throat
Hiccups that don't let up
Nausea
Weight loss for no known reason
Wheezing, dry cough, hoarseness, or chronic sore throat
View and/or download a pamphlet on how Upper Cervical Care can help acid reflux and other digestive disorders without the use of drugs or surgery.

The pamphlet is saved as a PDF. It can be viewed by downloading Adobe Acrobat. It is a FREE download from Adobe. Click on the logo below to download.

Case Study Acid Reflux

This 5-month-old baby was brought in for an upper cervical evaluation because of gastrointestinal problems since birth. Four weeks after he was born, he was prescribed zantec for reflux. By 6 weeks, he was hospitalized due to blood in his stool. It was determined that he was allergic to his mother's milk and should no longer be breastfed. However, the reflux continued, even on formula. Eventually, he was also prescribed prilosec. In addition, the baby cried constantly with a high-pitched type of scream, which his mother interpreted as pain. Both parents were exhausted and frustrated because their son was in constant pain, screaming, and he hardly slept.
During this baby's initial evaluation, an upper neck injury was discovered through digital infrared imaging and laser-aligned radiographs. While the mother described her son's birth as normal, she had noticed that his head seemed to tilt upon his neck and that he only liked to lay on his stomach with his head to the left.

After the baby's initial neck correction, his squealing/screaming was markedly decreased according to his mother. In addtion, the amount of spitting up decreased and he seemed happier. Two weeks later, he began sleeping through the night except for awakening 1-2 times to feed. All high-pitched screaming had stopped. He fed normally and didn't spit up. His mother described her child as a "happy, normal baby" now compared to the child she had known before.

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