Why Gallbladder Symptoms Seem To Show Up In Your Shoulder
If you’re not quite sure where your gallbladder is or what it does, you’re not alone. Few people understand gallbladder symptoms and to be fair, some of them are downright confusing. The pain of a gallbladder attack may appear in your chest, your back and even your right shoulder, but how is that possible?
Your gallbladder is a small pear-shaped organ located just under the liver on the upper right of your abdomen. Its job is to store, concentrate and release bile secreted by the liver. The gallbladder is triggered to contract and squeeze its contents through the common bile duct and into the intestine when you eat a meal containing fat.
Small, hard gallstones can form in the gallbladder and shift into the main bile duct, creating painful blockages. As well, the duct can become clogged with thickened, cholesterol-filled bile and the pressure in this duct presses on the phrenic nerve.
This particular nerve connects to soft tissue from the gallbladder and travels all the way up the right side of your body, to the neck where it begins. That‘s why pressure from a small blockage down at the opening of the gallbladder can cause shoulder, neck and even head pain. Because this nerve travels around the lungs, gallbladder congestion may also result in shortness of breath.
Other gallbladder symptoms that may result from duct blockages include indigestion, belching, general abdominal pain and nausea.
What To Do
Dietary Changes
So, if you think that your shoulder pain or other symptoms may be due to a gallstone or gallbladder issue, what can you do?
There are some key dietary and lifestyle changes that should help relieve discomfort and may even reverse the disease you’ve developed.
High protein diets may also lead to excessive cholesterol buildup in the liver that may eventually result in the formation of cholesterol gallstones.
Avoiding saturated, trans and deep-fried fats will help to lower harmful cholesterol and ease the spasms and compression of the gallbladder. Eating fat should not be eliminated entirely though. In fact, many well-intentioned people embark on fat-free or deprivation diets which cause rapid weight loss, but these plans have the double negative effect of causing the gallbladder to store cholesterol in the bile and not receive regular signals to contract, meaning contents stagnate and thicken. Focus on good fats high in Omegas.
Obesity is a risk factor for gallstone formation so if you do plan to lose weight, just do so slowly and sustainably while maintaining a moderate amount of healthy fats in your diet along with a low to moderate lean protein consumption. Healthy fats may include, wild caught fish oils, avocado, flax, hemp and coconut oil, nuts and seeds.
Good sources of protein may include vegetarian sourced proteins derived from seeds such as pumpkins and from hemp. Wild caught fish is a good animal sourced protein, and is a much preferred than beef or poultry because of its ability to be assimilated quite efficiently and rapidly without causing intestinal tract congestion.
Bitter Is Better For The Liver
As well, certain bitter herbs and liver supportive supplements can help improve liver function, increase bile flow and flush out the system. These include dandelion greens, arugula, kale, spinach and swiss chard along with many others. Milk thistle has long been used as a liver tonic and anything which helps maintain healthy liver function will also contribute to relief of gallbladder symptoms.
Adding apple cider vinegar to your diet daily can be used as a gallbladder treatment to help soften stones and increase bile flow. Try mixing a few teaspoons of raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in a large glass of water and drink slowly each morning.
Cleansing
Cleansing can also make a difference and is effective in removing the very toxins that turn to gallstones and are the cause of gallbladder pain. The Pulverexx Protocol is a program that dissolves cholesterol and calcified gallstones in the gallbladder, liver and at the mouth of the pancreas.
