You eat a clean diet. You take probiotics. You drink plenty of water. Yet, by 3:00 PM, your stomach is distended, you feel sluggish, and your lower back aches.

Doctors might call it IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), but that is often just a label for "we don't know why your digestion is off."

In Applied Kinesiology, we often find a specific, mechanical cause for this mystery bloating: The Ileocecal Valve (ICV).

At Phelts Chiropractic PC, Dr. John W. Phelts, D.C. specializes in diagnosing and fixing this "Great Mimicker" of disease.

The "Bouncer" of Your Gut

The Ileocecal Valve is a small sphincter muscle located between your Small Intestine (where you absorb nutrients) and your Large Intestine (where you process waste).

Think of the ICV as a nightclub bouncer. Its job is to let waste leave the small intestine but never let it come back in.

When the Door Breaks

Stress, spicy foods, caffeine, and raw roughage can cause this valve to malfunction in two ways:

1. The "Open" ICV: The valve stays stuck open.
   • The Result: Waste and bacteria from the large intestine backwash into the sterile small intestine. This is a major cause of SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth).
   • Symptoms: Sudden bloating after eating, "brain fog," dark circles under the eyes, and diarrhea.
2. The "Closed" ICV: The valve spasms shut.
   • The Result: Waste gets trapped in the small intestine and begins to putrefy.
   • Symptoms: Constipation, bad breath, headaches, and shoulder pain.

Why Does My Back Hurt?

The ICV is often called "The Great Mimicker" because it causes pain far away from the stomach.

Through Viscerosomatic Reflexes, an inflamed ICV often refers pain to the Right Lower Back or the Right Shoulder. Many patients come in for back pain relief, only to find out their "bad back" is actually a "bad gut."

The Solution: Applied Kinesiology

You cannot see an ICV problem on a standard blood test or X-ray. It is a functional problem, so it requires functional testing.

Dr. Phelts uses AK to diagnose and treat it:

1. The Test: We test the muscle strength of the Quadriceps and Hamstrings (which share nerve supply with the intestines). Then, we stimulate the reflex point for the ICV. If the muscle goes weak, we know the valve is malfunctioning.
2. The Correction: Dr. Phelts performs a specific manual release technique to massage the valve back into its proper rhythm (either closing the door or opening it).
3. The Diet: We provide a temporary "ICV Diet" to let the valve heal—usually avoiding roughage (popcorn, nuts, raw salads) and spicy foods for a few days.

De-Bloat Before You Sculpt

If you are considering Emsculpt Neo to tone your abs, you must address the ICV first. No amount of muscle building can hide a distended, inflamed belly.

Fix the valve, stop the bloating, and reveal the flat stomach you actually have.

Ready to stop the bloat?

Schedule Your Nutrition Consultation at Phelts Chiropractic PC

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References

1. ICV Dysfunction and SIBO: Research indicates that dysfunction of the ileocecal valve is a predisposing factor for Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), allowing colonic bacteria to reflux into the small intestine.
   Source: PubMed - Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth: A Comprehensive Review
2. Viscerosomatic Pain: Studies confirm that visceral inflammation (like that of the gut) creates "referred pain" in somatic structures (muscles and spine) due to the convergence of nerve signals in the spinal cord.
   Source: PubMed - Viscerosomatic convergence of noxious visceral and somatic inputs
3. Applied Kinesiology for Allergies/Gut: This study demonstrates that AK muscle testing findings correlate significantly with serum immunoglobulin levels (IgE/IgG), validating its use in identifying physiological hypersensitivities.
   Source: PubMed - Correlation of Applied Kinesiology muscle testing findings with serum immunoglobulin levels for food allergies

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