Irritable Bowel Syndrome

By Y.C. Chan, OMD, Dipl Ac

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), also known as spastic colon or mucus colitis, is a functional disorder of the intestine occurring in the absence of visible structural abnormality.

IBS is a group of symptoms that varies for each individual patient who is affected, such as abdominal cramping, pain, constipation, diarrhea, bloating, etc. Additionally, symptoms are always aggravated by stress, anxiety and/or nervousness. Women suffer from IBS three times as often as men.

The causes of IBS are uncertain, but many problems and issues can cause IBS, for example, eating habits, food allergies, lack of exercise, improper lifestyle, environmental problems, as well as mental disorders.

Some pharmaceutical therapies for treating IBS have modest benefit but may cause a risk of side effects, particularly for patients who are allergic to certain medications. Acupuncture and natural products are highly recommended for sensitive patients.

Acupuncture is beneficial for IBS and colitis, and may surpass the effectiveness of medication in some cases. Acupuncture may work better and more quickly for patients with a short clinical course of IBS. Acupuncture's basic principle is

to reduce pain, discomfort, bloating, as well as constipation, and improve the patient's Qi, which relates to the patient's general health in the long term.

Patient's self care for IBS is an important issue. Dietary changes, avoiding too much sugar, salt, wine, spicy foods, etc., in addition, supplementing with live cultures/healthy microflora may be beneficial for IBS patients. However, practitioners should evaluate case by case in order to make a proper treatment plan for individual patients.

Since emotional stress (such as anger, anxiety, worry, etc.) has a major impact on IBS patients, unresolved problems can exacerbate the condition of IBS. Acupuncture not only works on the patient's physical condition, it works for their mental condition as well.