Mark: Years of Heartburn and Shoulder Pain

Mark came to me with a history of severe heartburn and reflux that he had been enduring “forever.” He began medicating with TUMS in college, and had been on acid blockers for decades.

As I went through his health history, he didn’t mention anything about shoulder pain– but on a hunch, I asked him if he happened to have left shoulder pain. He looked at me in surprise, and exclaimed, “YES! I have had left shoulder pain for as long as I have had reflux– but no one has asked me about it in the 25 years that I have been treated for it.”

I explained that, many times, there is a simple mechanical cause for heartburn and reflux– it’s an elevated stomach position. This makes it hard for the stomach valves to work properly, and can cause stomach acid to spill out and upward. The elevated stomach also often causes chronic left shoulder pain that isn’t relieved by standard orthopedic treatments for shoulder pain.

After the first session of Visceral Manipulation, Mark’s inexplicable shoulder pain that had been plaguing him for years was gone, and what had been an every-meal Prilosec habit became just a once in a while occurrence.

It’s amazing how simple manual techniques can help solve long-term issues!