Bloating & Indigestion

Bloating and indigestion occur when the food doesn’t break down properly and sits heavily in the stomach.

In Korean, there is a word that is specifically used for an acute stomachache deriving from bloating and indigestion. ‘Chehada’ means ‘being stuck’, referring to food stuck in the stomach region that hasn’t been digested properly. This word is derived from Traditional Eastern Medicine theory, that if a qi circulation in the body is somehow disrupted, it causes pain and discomfort for it disturbs the proper functions of the organs.

The stomach and intestinal walls are made of soft tissues and muscles so they are prone to sudden spasms and strain, but since sensory nerves are sparsely located, compared to that of skeletal muscles, the body doesn’t feel intestinal muscle strain as specifically as skeletal muscle strain. Instead, it feels like something is being ‘stuck’.

So how should you treat this painful and discomforting symptom? You should approach it the way you would when you strain a shoulder or neck muscle – resting, heat therapy, and stretching. But since people feel at loss about stretching and relaxing intestines, we offer special treatment known as Abdominal Tui-na.

Treating Bloating & Indigestion

We specialize in treating this ‘stuck’ condition of the intestines by combining Abdominal Tui-na and acupuncture and moxibustion all in one session, to eliminate the intestinal muscle strain and spasm, and to help the body recover its natural bowel rhythm and function.  Even for an acute symptom, it usually takes only one session to treat it, but for chronic conditions like IBS and GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), several sessions are recommended to improve the symptoms.