Experiencing gas pains can be embarrassing and excruciatingly uncomfortable. And when discomfort hits, positions to relieve gas can be an effective way to feel better, fast.
Gas usually gets into your gastrointestinal tract when you swallow air and when bacteria in your large intestine break down undigested carbohydrates, according to Betterhealth. They flag the following foods as the biggest potential gas-causers: certain fruits (like apples, peaches, and pears), vegetables (especially broccoli, cauliflower and kale), dairy products (like milk, ice cream and yogurt), whole grains, drinks with high-fructose corn syrup, candy, gum or other products that contain sweeteners ending in 'ol'.
Eating these types of foods can lead to symptoms like burping, bloating, and, well, passing gas. While the best way to relieve discomfort from gas is to do what you can to avoid developing it in the first place, there are many ways to get rid of gas, pain, and bloating, and certain movements can help you feel better, fast.
“In general, there have been studies that have shown that physical activity helps with intestinal gas clearance, especially in patients with bloating,” says gastroenterologist Dr Lukasz Kwapisz.
The basic idea, he explains, is that as you move, gas moves faster through your body – and then exits the premises. So what are these moves and positions to relieve gas? Gastroenterologists break down how to fart (and relieve that discomfort) quickly.
Positions to relieve gas
Walking
“Walking makes gas pass,” says Dr Ellen Stein. “It’s because of the motion and legs moving around – that helps move the gas from higher up in the digestive tract into the rectum, where it can be released.”
Walking also “stimulates gastrointestinal motility,” says Dr Randy Meisner. Meaning, it gets the muscles in your gut moving – and that can help push gas out.
Laying on your side
Laying on your side is an easy thing you can try at home, Dr Kwapisz says. “We have about 15 feet of our small intestine and three feet of our large intestine packaged into our abdomen,” he says. “That’s a lot of turns and twists to package all of that inside of us.” Because of this, he says, poo and gas can get trapped around some of those bends.
“Laying on your side helps with getting gravity on your side and changing the way our intestines are positioned within your abdominal cavity,” Dr Kwapisz says. He recommends laying on your side for 15 minutes, moving your knees to your chest up and down a few times, and then flipping onto the other side and doing the same.
Squatting
This is really about the motion of moving your knees toward your chest, Dr Meisner says. “That helps with expulsion,” he explains. This movement helps stimulate the way you’re supposed to poo and can also help push out gas. “It’s relaxing your colon to its more natural positioning,” he says.
Try doing 15 squats at a comfortable pace and seeing where that gets you.
Child’s pose
Child’s pose, in case you’re not familiar, is a yoga pose where you kneel on the floor with your toes together and your knees hip-width apart, bending forward so that your torso is between your knees and your arms are extended in front of you.
“This helps relax the pelvic floor, a network of muscles that holds everything in,” Dr Stein says. Your pelvic floor is involved in the process when you fart and relaxing it can help ease things out. Get into position and hold it for 30 seconds or so. Then, try it again.
Pigeon pose
Another yoga pose, the pigeon pose involves sitting on the ground and bending your right leg toward your left hand. Stretch your left leg straight behind you, lower your hips toward the floor, and keep your hips square. If you can, lean forward and bend your torso over your right leg. Then, switch and do this on the other side.
“This also helps relax your pelvic floor,” Dr Stein says. And, ultimately, it helps gas exit your body. You can also try holding this move for 30 seconds to a minute to see if it helps.
Positions to relieve gas while pregnant
There are all sorts of pain and discomfort when it comes to pregnancy, which can make gas pain even more frustrating. If you are pregnant and dealing with constipation and gas discomfort, Betterhealth suggests limiting common food culprits, slowly adding more fibre to your diet, drinking more water and moving your body. If that doesn’t help get things moving, you can try out some yoga poses.
Pre-natal yoga instructor Sakina Williams, recommends prenatal yoga for a variety of benefits. “Safely practicing yoga after the first trimester can help sleeplessness, low back pain, combat nausea and reduce stress,” says Williams. “Yoga asanas, or postures, can help to strengthen the pelvic floor, increase flexibility, and endurance to aid in childbirth.”
Williams urges those pregnant looking for positions to relieve gas to follow safe pregnancy yoga stretches, as there are certain things that you should skip or avoid while pregnant. “Any yoga postures that require a lying prone (belly down) or flat on the back, twisting and deep back bending,” Williams says, should be avoided. “It is [also] usually recommended not to practice hot yoga or breathwork with breath retention.”
If you’re looking to relieve gas with pregnancy-safe methods, try some of these poses recommended by Williams, who says, “These poses can shift the trapped gas and move it through the digestive tract and shift the pressure from the stomach.”
Happy baby pose
While lying flat on your back, bring your knees towards the sides of your body with the bottom of your feet facing the sky. If you can, grab onto your feet and gently rock side to side just like a baby.
Seated forward fold
For a seated forward fold, sit upright on the ground with your legs straight in front of you. Then, go ahead and gently bring your stomach towards your legs and stretch your arms towards your feet.
Goddess squat
Stand with your feet about three feet apart with your feet turned out at a 45-degree angle. Hold your arms above you and bend at the elbows with your palms facing each other. Begin to exhale and bend your knees while looking straight ahead.
Wide-knee-supported child’s pose
This is essentially the same as a typical child’s pose, but for this pose, you keep your knees spread out and your big toes together. This helps to open the joints of your spinal vertebrae and hips, which can help you relax into the pose.
When to see a doctor
It’s important to point out that it’s normal to have some gas. “Everybody has gas and everybody poos,” Dr Stein says.
But gas is a problem when it’s interrupting your daily life, you can’t control it or hold it in, and/or it’s painful, she says. Dr Meisner recommends looking at your diet and weeding out foods that are known to cause gas (see above).
And, if that doesn’t help you find relief, it’s time to consult your doctor. They can do a slew of different tests to check for things like Celiac disease, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and food intolerance, among other things, says Dr Kwapisz.
“If there are concerns, I definitely would advise a doctor’s visit,” he adds.
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