Belly Issues: Scar Tissue and Digestion
“My belly feels so ____________.”
If the answer to this fill in the blank question often is:
Bloated
Constipated
Cramped
Heavy
Nauseous
Read on!
Belly issues can commonly be described with many of the words listed above, and belly issues are common occurrences for many men and women. If on a rare occasion these symptoms occur, perhaps it is related to a virus, brief illness, or a specific night of binge eating pizza and beer. However, if these symptoms are frequently recurring it is time to figure out what is going on!
When it comes to digestion it is very important to consider any family history of digestive disorders that may be hereditary and seek help from a gastroenterologist to perform any necessary tests or examinations. However, there are a large number of men and women who go through “the full workup” of colonoscopies, endoscopies, and more only to hear that everything is normal. Then why does my belly constantly feel ________ (fill in the blank with any of the words above again)???
Have you considered the role of abdominal scar tissue on digestion? In pelvic floor physical therapy we often see men and women who have gone through one or more abdominal surgeries with excellent healing of their incisions. However, the emphasis was always placed on seeing that incision heal and often we don’t recognize the impact of that healed scar tissue on the belly.
Scar tissue does not have elastin (a protein that is found in most of our body tissues such as muscles, skin, etc). Just like it sounds - elastin allows our skin and muscles to be stretchy. Without elastin, scar tissue is very tough and immobile. When an abdominal surgery is performed, that immobile scar tissue can be created deep into the abdominal cavity and create chaos for our digestive tract as food/stool try to make it’s way through loops and twists and turns of our stomach and intestines, particularly when there may be a big roadblock of immobile scar tissue running through it!
Pelvic floor physical therapists are skilled in assessing and treating scar tissue from abdominal scars (gallbladder removal, appendix removal, hysterectomy, laparoscopy, C-section, and more). We are also trained in assessing food/fluid intake with regard to its impact on the pelvic floor functions. Nutrition and fluid intake play an enormous role in gut health and that’s a topic that Jackie will cover in greater detail in next week’s blog. It deserves its own moment in the spotlight because it is such an important piece of the puzzle to the big picture of gut health.
If you’ve been experiencing belly issues like we’ve just discussed, and you have personally had one or more abdominal surgeries - reach out to us at Shift Physical Therapy. When your belly feels happy and healthy, so will you!
Written by: Renee Hancock, Pelvic Floor Therapy Specialist
