Bloating and distension are highly prevalent symptoms with a marked effect on health status and quality of life. In the last few years, considerable progress has been made in understanding the pathogenesis of these symptoms, and emerging evidence indicates that targeting colonic motility, gut flora, visceral sensitivity, and dietary intake is helpful in controlling such symptoms.²

The primary goal of digestion is to get food from one end to the other as quickly as possible with maximum absorption. Massage techniques that manually teach overworked abdominal muscles how to relax and efficiently move gasses through the system will improve gut motility and strengthen peristaltic action. Though few studies exist in which bloating is a primary endpoint, I’ve personally found that musculoskeletal pelvic alignment coupled with breathing exercises to stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system help improve the symptoms of belly bloat among my clientele.